Aisle Tango With You
by Lady Aurelia Crawley
Summary: After splitting from Alexander, Jane has developed a strong relationship with Jess, but her burgeoning relationship with Lovejoy is teetering on the edge as she struggled to decide what she wants. Can Jess and a trip to Scotland bring them together? And what will happen when Jess meets Jane's mother and sister?
1. Chapter 1

**So here it is, as promised, my brand new story in my Lovejane series. So can Jess bring our favourite couple together? And what will happen when she meets Jane's family in Scotland? Well go on, read on to find out ;)**

October lurched into life with a bang for Jess, Jane and Lovejoy, with all three working hard, well Jane and Jess at least, on a barn conversion for their new client. As Jane had predicted, Jess had taken to interior design like a duck to water, and Jane loved teaching her new skills. And as Lovejoy had predicted, Jane was back in command of most of her business. She was as hands on now, if not more so, as she was ten years ago, tiling, plastering, wallpapering, you name it, she was doing it. She even had Jess doing a lot more than she thought she was capable of, but Jane was a very good and patient teacher.

'Is this alright Janey?' Jess asked as she slopped around some plaster in a bucket, letting it drop off the edge of her trowel, and looking most unconvinced.

'You've done great Jess, don't look so worried, it just needs a little more plaster powder, as it needs to be a bit thicker,' Jane explained as she dumped another couple of handfuls of white powder into the black bucket, and stirred the mixture vigorously, splattering them both with tiny little flecks across their overalls. 'Do you want me to show you how to put it on the walls evenly again?'

'No thanks, I think I can manage that,' Jess smiled as she took the bucket back from Jane and began to plaster the wall on one side of the room, whilst Jane went back to the other and looked through her book of wallpaper samples, occasionally holding one up against the currently blank wall.

'Jess what do you think of this one?' She asked after a short while, trying to decide between two. 'I hate it when clients ask me to choose,' she muttered as Jess joined her side.

'Why do you hate it? You have fabulous taste and know what works well, it shows that they trust you,' Jess replied warmly. 'I like the blue striped paper, it's subtle in comparison to the red one.'

'Good choice Jess, that's the one I was favouring as well.'

Jess then went back to her plastering, and smeared the mixture onto the wall exactly as Jane had shown her, and despite her reservations about her abilities, she was actually quite good at it. She learnt well after being shown how to do something, she rarely had to be shown more than once.

'Janey, where did you learn to plaster and tile? It's not exactly the sort of thing that they would teach you at finishing school,' Jess said with a mock posh voice, resulting in a cheeky giggle from Jane.

'I didn't go to finishing school thank you very much, although Prue did, I got married instead. No, I learnt this sort of thing when I worked for a company called Hawkes and Draper. I was hired by them as their interior designer when I first qualified. They were a very old company, who didn't really approve of women in the workplace much, but they liked my work. However, it wasn't hands on, not as I like it anyway. They used contractors for all of the manual work, but I would visit the sites and some of the men showed me how.'

'Janey you rebel you!'

'Hello Lovejoy!' Jane and Jess both said in unison as Lovejoy climbed the ladder.

'I'm glad that you're here Lovejoy because I have got a bone to pick with you!' Jane said with a tone of annoyance and a furrowed brow, just as he reached their level and he placed a loving kiss on Jane's cheek.

'Uh-oh, what've I done now?' He asked with a cheeky wink at Jess and pretend worried expression.

'Actually, it's what you haven't done that's annoyed me. You promised me a spiral staircase, remember?' Jane said as she began to advance slowly towards him. 'You said that you knew just where to get one,' she added moodily, which made Jess giggle.

'Shit! Janey I'm sorry, but I do know exactly where I can get one, and I can get it today for you. Just give me an hour, or maybe two, and it'll be yours,' he replied with a boyish, mischievous grin.

'Oh alright then, you've got one hour!' Jane gave in, wrinkling her nose playfully. Despite her tone, she wasn't really cross with Lovejoy, and Jess knew that.

'Right you are,' he replied as he was just about to leave, but he quickly stopped when he saw Jess' plastering handy work. 'Say Jess, that's looking pretty good! You'll make an interior designer of her yet Janey.'

'And I'll make mince-meat out of you if you don't get a move on and get that staircase,' Jane said firmly, making Lovejoy retreat very quickly. 'Although he's right Jess, you are doing marvellously. You're a very fast learner.'

'I always am Janey, I always am,' Lovejoy shouted up from the bottom floor, making them both laugh.

'Aw thank you Janey, but you are a very good teacher. '

They chatted happily whilst they worked, about all sorts, including the possibility of commissioning Jess to paint some landscapes to be included in the artwork for the room. Their working time together passed quickly, during which time Lovejoy managed to return, within an hour, with the cast iron staircase he had promised Jane. She was very impressed, but she didn't want to let on to him that that was how she felt.

'Well, are you impressed?' He fished.

'Well, I will say that you have stuck to your end of the bargain I suppose,' she said, trying her hardest not to smile in gratitude, 'and I suppose that does mean we will be able to meet our deadline.' Her resolve faltered and she gave Lovejoy that broad grin that he loved. 'Thank you Lovejoy.'

'Not a problemo madam,' he said as he grabbed her hand and placed a playful kiss to it.

'Oh Lovejoy,' Jane blushed a tapped his arm as he then moved to sit on the table from which the girls were working.

'So we can all go to Scotland together then?'

'We can, but only if you still really want to come Lovejoy. I don't want you to feel that you have to come, but what with Mother there, and Prue and her family, I just thought that it might be nice for Jess to have a familiar face to turn to. Not that I'm saying you'll need it Jess, but…'

'It's OK Janey, I understand. But I don't want you to fret so much, in fact, we don't have to tell your family anything if you really don't want to. I'd actually be alright with that. If meeting Alexander has taught me anything, it's that I don't actually care who knows now, because you are the only important one, and you know, so I don't feel like I'm living a lie if no one else finds out. Does that make sense?' She explained animatedly, barely taking any breaths at all.

'You know Jess, you confuse the hell out of me when you babble so quickly like that,' Lovejoy joked.

'No Jess, of course I want them to find out, and I will tell them. If you meeting Alexander has taught me anything, it's that I honestly don't care what anyone else thinks either, but I'm tired of living a lie. And besides, they don't know that Alexander and I are…well, unattached, and they'll want to know why when I do tell them. I don't want to come up with some lie, I want to be honest and tell them exactly what happened.'

Putting down her bucket and trowel, Jess ran over to Jane and threw her arms around her in a warm loving hug, one that Jane really found comforting. Although she wouldn't admit to it, she was very nervous about speaking to her family, especially her mother. What she had just said to Jess was absolutely true, she had no intention of hiding Jess' identity, and she intended to tell her about Alexander's involvement, but the thought still unnerved her. And if Jess was honest with herself, she was very nervous too, but she knew that, despite what Jane was saying, that she was unnerved by it all as well. However, what did excite both Jane and Jess, was that Lovejoy was going to be there too.

'Right Lovejoy, tomorrow I am trusting you and Jess to the auctions to find me these…' Jane said once she released Jess and took out a list of items from her pocket and handed it to Lovejoy.

'I think we could manage that; what do you say Jess?' He asked as he took the list from Jane, and placed his arm around Jess, who snuggled into his side lovingly.

'Oh think that should be fairly easy,' she grinned. She loved the idea of spending some time with just her and Lovejoy.

'We'll have to be off early in the morning though. There's a few showrooms we'll need to visit.'

'What are you going to do tomorrow Janey?' Jess asked.

'Well if we can finish the plastering tonight, then it'll be dry by tomorrow morning so that I can start on the first coat of paint. I'll also get on to the contractor just now and get him in to fit the staircase.'

With their plans made for the next day, Jane and Jess worked hard into the early evening to finish plastering the walls, and the walls that were already dry, Jane managed to get ahead of herself and added the first coat of white paint. So that night, when they eventually finished and returned home to Felsham Hall, they were both exhausted, but happy, as they tucked into their simple supper, whilst the dogs all laid out in front of the fire.

'I can't believe that you're going to be twenty in a few days Jess,' Jane said.

'Don't! I can't believe it either, but I'm really glad that I'm going to get to spend it with you and Lovejoy.'

'Have you thought about what you would like to do? I know that it's the day before we head to Scotland, but we can still do whatever you'd like.' It felt very important to Jane that she celebrate Jess' birthday, but Jess felt uncertain.

'I don't really want to do anything if I'm honest, just spend some time with you.'

'There isn't anything you'd like to do?'

'Well Janey, I'm not sure if I really want to celebrate it. It's the first birthday since mum died and my first celebration with you, but I just feel so conflicted,' Jess explained with sadness.

'Oh sweetheart, I'm sorry to have been so insensitive!'

'No you haven't been insensitive at all. We've been through so much together that it's time we found things to celebrate, it's just that I feel...I don't know, strange I guess,' Jess tried to make Jane understand exactly how she felt, even though she didn't truly understand it herself.

'I usually hate this time of year. Before you came back, I could just about force myself not to think about you for most of the year, but then the time around your birthday would come, and that I couldn't shake...' Jane broke off as she began to cry.

'I'm sorry Janey, I didn't mean to upset you,' Jess said as she moved closer to her mother.

'It's not your fault, don't apologise. I do look on your birthday as something happy, because I got to spend that day with you after you were born. But it is the day after that I find most difficult, since that's the day I lost you.'

'I can't even begin to understand what that must have felt like for you Janey. But I promise that my mum always made my birthdays fun. Before she got sick she used to make my birthday cakes every year and used to invite my grandparents down. I have really good memories.'

Jane smiled. Although it pained her to hear how her daughter had a good childhood with someone else, it healed some of that pain at the same time, to know that her sacrifice was for Jess' benefit.

'What sort of cakes did she make you?' She asked with a gleeful smile, which was returned by her daughter.

'I have pictures if you want to see?'

'I'd love to.'

Jess ran upstairs to her bedroom and over to the bookcase where she housed several of her photo albums, and grabbed a red leather bound book, thick with memories.

'I haven't looked at these in a while, so it'll be nice to share them with you; although I feel sorta cruel for doing it,' she said as she joined Jane again.

'It's not cruel Jess, I want to know and I want to share your memories,' Jane replied.

Jess flicked through several pages which showed her as a baby shortly after she was adopted, and then onto her toddler years. Her third birthday showed her blowing out the candles on a bumblebee cake, her little face was illuminated by the light from the candles and with excitement for the sugary treat.

'I think you've already seen this one from my fifth birthday, from when you and Lovejoy came to the house,' Jess said as she showed Jane one of the pictures.

'Oh yes! I do remember seeing this one,' Jane beamed, feeling genuinely delighted at the pictures, much to her surprise. 'It was just before your dad died wasn't it?'

'Yeah it was.'

'Do you remember him at all?'

'Not really. He was away a lot before he died, but I vaguely seem to remember us having a barbecue one summer, but it was raining so me and mum stood in the kitchen and watched him standing under a brolly,' Jess giggled. 'I remember we had really hideous banana leaf type wall paper in the kitchen and it was bright lime. It's funny the sort of things you remember.'

'Oh I don't know; I like to think that's the interior designer in you,' Jane giggled.

'What's your mum like?' Jess asked. She had never properly asked about her other family before now. Jane had mentioned them from time to time, especially in recent weeks, but Jess was never certain if she wanted to know more.

'She was a very hands-on mother actually, we still had a nanny to help look after us but Mother always made sure that she was around. She raised us the way that she was raised; although my grandmother was raised in an aristocratic family, she didn't marry into one and led a more upper-middle class lifestyle, and that's how she raised my mother.'

'Really? I didn't realise that. I always thought aristos married each other,' Jess said with surprise. 'Sorry Janey, you must think that a horrid thing to say,' she grimaced as she realised how insulting that must have sounded.

'Not at all, you're right to be honest. But my grandmother was…interesting, to say the least. She didn't like all the pomp and ceremony that went with aristocratic life; she'd been given a taste of non-aristocracy during the war when she worked as a nurse, so that was that. She caused a bit of a scandal when she married my grandfather, since he wasn't an aristo, but they loved each other, that's all that matters. They were married for just over sixty years when my grandfather died, and then my grandmother died within six months of his passing.'

'That's really romantic, but sad too.'

'It is; I always hoped that Alexander and I would be live that you,' Jane replied sadly.

'I'm glad we can be together now, without hiding from him, but I wish I hadn't made you sad. I know you miss him.'

'I do, of course I do; we were married for quite a long time, but I have more love for you than I ever did for my marriage, which is something that Alexander could never understand,' Jane said as she ran her hand through Jess' long hair and cupped her cheek. She loved her daughter more than anything else.

'What do you think your mum's going to say when you tell her about me?'

'I think she's going to be hurt, and I think I'm going to have a battle on my hands to try and make her understand, but she will come round, and she is going to absolutely adore you, I just know she will,' Jane said as she hugged Jess closely.

'What about your sister?'

'Prue will be much easier to bring round. She wasn't particularly fond of Alex, and she's often asked me why we hadn't yet had children. In the early days I would just brush her off with some sort of excuse, but then one day I tired of lying to her, relatively recently actually, and I told her that Alexander didn't want children and that that was that.'

Jess and Jane chatted a lot more about Jane's, and now Jess', family and the childhood that she'd had. Jess was fascinated to learn more about her family history and felt excited, although a little apprehensive, about meeting them. Jane picked up on her apprehension, but assured her that no matter what happened, they would love her.

'Just be yourself, you'll be great,' Jane said, before they had bid each other goodnight.

Over the next few weeks, whilst completing the barn conversation, they talked tirelessly of Jane's family and their plans for Scotland and what Jess wanted to do for her birthday as well. She had come to terms a little more about celebrating her birthday, but still wanted to only do something small and something she had never really done before. The barn conversion was completed, just before Jess' birthday, and two days before they headed to Scotland. When the final pieces of furniture went in, chosen by Lovejoy and Jess at the auctions, the place finally had a warm, homely feel about it, and when the client came to inspect it, he was thrilled and amazed.

'Well, it's my daughter Jess you've to really thank, she's my apprentice, but she's done a lot of the work,' Jane said with pride as she showed Brendan Chisholm, a very wealthy businessman from the heart of London, around his new home. He was a little older than Jane, with peppered hair, a smart suit and a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts. He was quiet spoken, with a north London accent, not too dissimilar to Jess'.

'She obviously takes after her mother,' he flirted a little. 'Is she not with you today? I'd like to thank her personally.'

'No she's not with me at the moment,' she replied. 'We're going away for a few days to Scotland now that we've completed your house, so she's at home packing I suspect.'

'How old is your daughter? If you don't mind me asking that is.'

'I don't mind at all. She's just about to turn twenty.' Jane felt delighted and proud to be talking about Jess, and feeling like a mother, although it felt very strange at the same time.

'Wow, you certainly don't look old enough to have a twenty-year-old daughter, that's for sure,' Brendan replied with a deep, seductive tone.

'Thank you,' Jane blushed. 'Although I'm probably a lot older than you might think,' she mumbled as she fiddled with her hair and bit her bottom lip. 'Let me show you the kitchen next.'

She quickly led him into the kitchen through an archway that she had built, leading into a very spacious dining and kitchen area, with a rustic country house feel, just as Brendan had wanted.

'The agar also provides heating to the rest of the house and heats the water as well,' she said as he looked round in amazement.

'My, my Jane, you certainly have a talented bunch of workmen working for you,' he said as he admired the tiling.

'Actually most of the work has been done by myself and Jess. I don't use contractors these days, not if I can help it.'

'Well, when I was advised by a friend of mine to hire you as my interior designer, I was told that you were the best in the area, but I never thought that someone as talented as you would see to my work so personally. I appreciate all of the detail that you have put into it.'

This flirtatious exchange of compliments continued throughout the tour of the conversion, with Jane becoming more and more hot under the collar. She thought Brendan was very attractive, and found him to be a perfect gentleman.

'Do you have any questions about anything we've done?' Jane asked as she finally finished the tour.

'Actually, yes I do have one question; would you like to come for a drink with me on Friday night?' Brendan asked boldly, leaving Jane to feel quite taken aback.

'Oh, I, I'm flattered…'

'But that's a no…' he replied awkwardly and shyly, trying to hide the flush of colour that had come to his cheeks, which made Jane adore him just a little bit more.

'No, no I'd like to, it's just that Friday is my daughter's birthday and…'

'You and your daughter are very close, it's nice to see.'

'Do you have children yourself?'

'Yes, a son; I don't get to see him all that often these days,' Brendan replied sadly.

Jane felt sorry for Brendan although she wasn't certain why, and she wasn't really certain if she was ready to go on a date yet. Since she and Alexander parted ways, she'd discovered a great deal of male acquaintances who had decided that now she was single she must be interested in them, but Brendan didn't seem like that, for which, she was greatful.

'We're travelling up to Scotland on Saturday, but we'll be back in about a week. Perhaps we could meet up then?' She asked tentatively, making Brendan smile broadly.

'I would love that.'

Jane then grabbed the rest of her equipment and headed back home to Felsham Hall, where Lovejoy and Jess were already waiting for her. She heard them laughing excitedly as soon as she walked in and it was the best sound she thought she'd ever heard. Now that Jess was back for good, and Alex gone, she realised that this was what she had to look forward to for a long time to come; the only problem with that was, did she really want to ruin it by inviting a man into the equation? And did she want just anyone in her life, or was there really only one man for her? The thought came to her just as she got to the billiard room, where Lovejoy and Jess were playing, and he was losing. As she stood and watched them together, she thought for a few moments about him and her, the kiss that they had shared that night, a few weeks earlier, and how much she loved him, but was that enough? He was sweet, kind, thoughtful and generous with Jess; he had filled the role of her father very easily, but he was also very irresponsible, a womaniser, bad with money and constantly in trouble!

On seeing Jane standing in the door way Lovejoy looked up from his concentration of the cue and the white ball and smiled broadly at her. Ah, damn it, there is was, that smile that hit her every time and made her fall in love with him every time.

'Janey, you're just in time to see your daughter kicking my ass; it's the third game in a row she's won!' He said despondently.

'Now, now Lovejoy, don't be a bad loser,' Jess' reply was mischievous, with a twinkle in her eye and a wrinkle of her nose. 'Do you want a shot Janey?' She asked as she handed Jane the cue, just as Lovejoy missed his shot.

'Alright,' she said as she began lining up her shot, wiggling her bottom slightly in Lovejoy's direction, an opportunity that he didn't fail to take as he stared at her, making Jess giggle seeing as he wasn't very discreet about it, yet Jane was oblivious. As she concentrated hard on lining up her shot, he walked up behind her and knocked the cue, just as she was about to take her shot.

'See now Janey, that just goes to show, you should never rush a shot,' he said mischievously, as Jane stood up and faced him, just inches from him.

'Oh is that what happened?' She retorted softly, with a brief, seductive raise of her eyebrow. It didn't seem to matter how much she resisted him, he always seemed to bring out the flirtatious side of her.

'Oh gimme a break,' Jess playfully muttered under her breath with a role of her eyes, taking her cue and potting a few balls.

'I thought it was my turn?' Jane said.

'Ah, but you missed…' Jess replied as she potted the final few.

'Actually Jess, where did you learn to play so well?' Lovejoy asked as he helped her to tidy away.

'Woodgreen Youth Club. I used to go every Thursday and hang out with all of the lads, I was much more the tom-boy so preferred pool, football and video games to dolls, make-up and fashion; although I of course loved art. That's actually where I first discovered I could paint properly. When mum became ill it was a way for me to escape.'

'Well, you've got a wonderful talent Jess, I'm glad that you discovered it, I'm just sorry that you discovered it the way you did,' Lovejoy said as he placed a fatherly arm around Jess' shoulders and a gentle kiss to her forehead. 'So what do you want to do on your last night as a nineteen-year-old?'

'Can we just go down to The Ploughman's for a drink?' Jess giggled.

'What an excellent idea,' Lovejoy replied, 'no doubt Tinker will already be there and will already have a few under his belt before we've even said hello to the barman.'

'Probably, but he's like everyone's favourite uncle,' Jess laughed.

She loved going to the pub with Lovejoy, Jane, Eric and Tinker, the people she loved most in the world and happy to call family. Eric and Tinker had really taken to Jess, and she them, so the idea of spending the night before her birthday with them seemed very fitting. It didn't take long for them to get ready and arrive at the pub, and just as Lovejoy had predicted, Tinker was sat in their usual corner, slightly worse for wear, joined by a slightly less inebriated Eric.

'Hello boys, mind if we join you?' Jane asked with a smile.

'Jane my dear, lovely to see you,' Tinker replied.

'Hello Tinker,' Jess said as she placed a kiss to his cheek, making him blush furiously. 'And Eric, what's up, you've got a face like a smacked arse,' she added on seeing Eric's less than jovial expression.

'He's depressed,' Tinker filled in.

'What the hell have you to be depressed about Eric?' Lovejoy exclaimed.

'Lillian, that girl from the post office, she's dumped me.'

'I didn't realise you were even going out,' Jess said as she approached the bar, buying the first round of drinks. She'd spent so much time with them all that she didn't need to ask them what they were drinking, she knew their favourite tipples off by heart.

'What can I get you?' The barman said.

'One scotch, a pint of lager, a pint of beer, a cabernet sauvignon and a rum and coke please.'

As the barman then placed the drinks in front of her, one by one she passed them to their grateful recipients, before joining them. They were laughing raucously at some predicament Eric had gotten himself into, and it was one of the best starts to her birthday she'd ever had.

They'd spent the entire evening together, laughing and chatting and talking about their upcoming trip to Scotland, before retiring home, with Lovejoy joining Jane and Jess for a night-cap at Felsham Hall. Being slightly tipsy meant that Jane wasn't quite in full control of her inhibitions, which made it even harder for her to resist Lovejoy's flirting.

'Right I'm off to bed,' Jess said, slightly drunk and very sleepily, but in a very good mood. She walked over to Lovejoy, who was sat next to Jane on the sofa. Jess had noticed that, since they'd returned home, Lovejoy and Jane had been getting closer and closer to each other on the sofa, which made Jess giggle. It was as clear to her as it was to everyone else how they felt about each other, and it was frustrating her that they weren't getting the hint about being with each other.

She hadn't pressed the matter since the day she had confronted Lovejoy about it, because she knew that he had been right about Jane needing time to come to terms with everything that had happened; even though she hated and despised Alexander, Jess appreciated that Jane had been very much in love with him, and she understood that her separation from him came as a shock to her. However, Jess now felt like it was time that they all started to look towards their future together, and if she had her way, that future included Lovejoy firmly in it.

'Goodnight Lovejoy; see you in the morning,' she said as she kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug.

'Yeah goodnight Jess. Don't let the bed bugs bite,' he replied as he hugged her back tightly.

'Night Janey,' she said as she then turned her attentions to her mother, whom she hugged even tighter and lingered just that little bit longer. 'Love you,' she added in a whisper, which flooded Jane with emotions.

'I love you too,' she whispered back, and as Jess left them, Jane had tears in her eyes.

'Are you alright?' Lovejoy asked her after a few moments.

'Yes, yes I'm fine,' she said as she wiped her eyes and blinked a few times. 'I just still can't believe that she's here sometimes, and that she's mine,' she added, just as Lovejoy placed his arm around her shoulders and gave her a little kiss to her forehead, something she didn't pull away from.

'I know, and tomorrow is going to be very special, for the both of you.'

'Thank you Lovejoy. You really have been great with her you know,' she replied, feeling aware that he was very close to her.

'Well she's a really great kid Janey, she reminds me a lot of you.'

'Does she? I sometimes wonder. There's this look that she gives sometimes, I don't even think she's aware of it, but I swear it's just like looking at Alexander,' she explained sadly, as she nervously took a sip of her drink.

'Janey, are you having second thoughts about you and Alexander?' Lovejoy asked sharply, feeling a little hot under the collar.

'No, no of course I'm not, but I want the best for Jess, and right now what is best for her is that she has stability and the right sort of guidance…'

'The right sort of guidance? What the hell does that mean?!'

'I didn't mean anything by that in particular Lovejoy…'

'Well you must have meant something Jane!'

What had started out as a conversation of avoidance was fast turning into a full blown argument, which was the last thing she had intended, but she couldn't allow herself to be vulnerable with Lovejoy, because she knew exactly where that would lead to, and she still hadn't made up her mind whether or not he was who she wanted to be with or what it was that she wanted.

'Forget it Lovejoy, I didn't mean anything by it; I'm sorry,' she moved quickly away from him, and sidled to the other end of the sofa.

Lovejoy couldn't quite fathom what had just happened. She infuriated him sometimes, because one minute he thought that he might be within a chance of being with her, and then the next she would back away from him.

'I just feel a little, preoccupied this evening, I am sorry.'

'So what's brought this on?' He asked, trying to make sense of her, but his tone of annoyance was still very clear.

'Brendan Chisholm has asked me out on a date. He wanted me to go with him tomorrow night but I told him that I couldn't because of Jess, so we're going out when we come back from Scotland,' she said quickly as she grabbed the empty cups and glasses and walked briskly into the kitchen, followed closely by Lovejoy.

'Hold on a minute Janey! I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, but we know nothing about him, he might be an absolute sleaze!' He said as he tried to find an excuse to give her, afraid to properly say what he really wanted to say to her in case it pushed her further away.

'Well Lovejoy, Alexander and I have been separated now for a couple of months, maybe it is time that I moved on…'

'Janey, I can appreciate that in your semi-detached state that you're needing a meaningless fling, I just think you need to be careful, that's all…'

'Lovejoy, your concern is duly noted…' she began to say just as the clock in the hall struck midnight, '…but I think it's time I went to bed.' She quickly walked out of the kitchen and turned out the lights. 'You're welcome to stay if you want to.'

'No, no thanks Janey, I think I'll just go home.'

'But you didn't bring Miriam with you.'

'It's fine, I'll walk; the fresh air will do me good.'

He disappeared into the dark night, tightly wrapped up against the cold, but his anger was enough to keep him warm. He hadn't even said a proper goodnight to Jane, and he knew that that had hurt her, like she knew that telling him about Brendan had hurt him. As she closed the front door and locked it tightly, she rested against it for a few moments and gave a big sigh. What a mess she was in. Thankfully her morning got off to a much better and happier start.

As she sat in the kitchen waiting for Jess to come down, she lightly thumbed the carefully wrapped present that was sat waiting in front of her, and smiled lightly at the thought of it. She wasn't sure if she'd done the right thing by giving her this, perhaps she wouldn't understand it's significance, but at least it was something vitally important to Jane.

'Happy birthday sweetheart,' Jane said as Jess bounced into kitchen.

'Thank you Janey,' she said with a broad grin as she placed a kiss to her cheek.

'Have a seat and I'll get you breakfast.'

'That's alright mum I'll get it,' Jess replied as she walked casually to the cooker, but her use of the word mum had brought tears to Jane's eyes. It was the first time Jane had heard Jess call her mum without being half asleep or under the influence of a fever.

'Jess,' she said as she rushed towards her daughter and embraced her tightly. 'I love you, I hope you know that.'

'I know; I love you too. I can't wait for us to spend some time together in Scotland,' Jess replied as she held Jane tightly. 'Now let go of me and I'll make us some breakfast,' she added with a giggle.

Jane smiled tearfully, 'alright, what do you fancy?' She asked as she watched Jess mulling around.

'Nothing complicated, just beans on toast, with a side of banana pancakes,' Jess said as she took out a pan from the cupboard.

'Ah, well I know how they're your favourites, so I already made you some; they're in the oven keeping warm.'

'You are the best!'

Jess shared her pancakes, toast and beans with Jane, who enjoyed her breakfast and coffee with her daughter, as they sat at the table with the sun streaming through the French windows. They chatted awhile about what Jess wanted to do for the day, before Jane gave Jess her present.

'You do realise that I didn't expect you to get me anything you know,' Jess said with a flush to her cheeks.

'Well of course I was going to get you something; although this is something I bought for you a very long time ago,' Jane explained apprehensively as Jess slowly and carefully pulled at the red ribbon holding together the neatly folded gold wrapping paper to reveal a small, white knitted blanket with the letter J embroidered into one corner. 'I had no idea what I was going to get you for your birthday this year, since nothing seemed special enough, but then I remembered that I had this and I wanted to give it to you…'

Jess was speechless and felt her eyes begin to sting as she realised the significance of the gift.

'Janey, this…this is beautiful,' she whispered as she pulled it out and held it close to her.

'I wrapped you up in that as soon as you were born. Alexander thought I'd gotten rid of everything pertaining to you, if something hadn't gone with the social worker, he gave it away to charity. I was only able to keep this and a couple of outfits that I'd bought for you.'

'It's weird, I never once even considered that you might have kept something back, I don't even think I ever considered what you had bought me before I went away. This means a lot.' She gave Jane the most loving hug that she could muster and both were close to tears, but neither wanted that today.

'I got you something else as well, although I should have perhaps talked it over with you first,' Jane explained nervously as she handed Jess a card. As Jess opened it a certificate of some sort fell out, which Jess quickly unfolded, wondering what on earth Jane had done.

'This contract confirms and certifies that Jessica Carter is now a signed partner in Felsham Interiors…You made me a partner in your business?!' She exclaimed as she read the document aloud.

'Yes I did. I also want to add you to the name of the business, I was thinking Felsham and Carter Interiors, what do you think?'

But Jess didn't get the chance to respond as Lovejoy walked in looking very pleased, carrying a small gift wrapped box, which he placed in front of her before giving her a hug.

'Aw thank you Lovejoy, but you shouldn't have!' She replied as she then unwrapped his present, which was a beautifully wrapped jewellery box, with an ornate design on the lid and when she opened it, it played the most beautiful piece of classical music.

'I remember that you said weeks ago that you always wanted one of those,' he said as he walked towards Jane.

'Aw I really love it. Thank you guys for such wonderful gifts,' she said as she hugged them both brightly in turn. 'I'll take these upstairs and throw on some clothes,' she added as she then skipped out of the kitchen, leaving Lovejoy and Jane to awkwardly look at each other.

'Lovejoy, about last night, I'm so sorry for the way I spoke to you…'

'Jane, you've nothing to apologise for. I just want the best for you and I want you to be happy. I overacted last night and I'm sorry,' he replied as he kissed her forehead, and then looked lovingly at her, a look which made her stomach fill with butterflies.

After a short while, Jess came bounding down the stairs again, where she found Lovejoy and Jane sat at the table in gentle conversation. As per usual she was wearing her favourite bright coloured clothing, which matched her ecstatic smile.

'Jess, are you sure that this is what you want to do today, we can go to the auctions anytime,' Lovejoy asked.

'I know, but I love going to the auctions with you both, it always feels special, like it's our little thing,' Jess explained.

'Well if you're sure that's what you want, then I'm happy to oblige,' Jane smiled.

'Although there's a car boot sale on in Bury St Edmonds that I'd like to go to first.'

'I've never been to one before,' Jane said, much to the surprise of both Jess and Lovejoy.

'Really Janey? You're missing out. It's great what you can find in a car boot sale, you pick up some real bargains,' Jess explained as she grabbed her coat.

They all walked out to the range rover together, but Jess was a little preoccupied as she got in. Jane sensed that something was playing on Jess' mind, but wasn't sure what.

'Is everything alright Jess?' She asked as she rested against the open car door.

'Yeah Janey everything is fine, it's just that…well…I was just thinking about the partnership…' she said with a slightly worried tone.

'I knew I should have asked you about it first. If you don't like the idea…'

'No, no, it's not that at all, I love the idea and I feel honoured that you've done that for me, really I do…it's just the name, Felsham and Carter Interiors, it just feels a little too impersonal, as if it doesn't reflect the relationship we now have; so how would you feel about changing it to Felsham and Daughter?' Jane was speechless. That was definitely not what she had expected Jess to say.

'Felsham and Daughter?! Jess, I don't know what to say…well except yes of course,' she stammered to a gleeful and relieved looking Jess.

'Congratulations you two, now we have something else to celebrate,' Lovejoy grinned, as they climbed into the car beside him and then Jane began to drive out of the driveway.


	2. Chapter 2

The old playing field, once the farmers' trading market, in Bury St Edmonds was packed with cars, stalls, burger vans and people. There were punters there for all sorts of reasons, some just out for the day in hopes of finding a bargain, some were just being nosy, but others were there with the intent of finding something very specific. There were treasures to be had among the tat and bric-a-brac, Lovejoy could feel it; the hairs on the back of his neck were starting to tingle. A sure sign that something magical was about to happen.

Jess was having great fun looking at all of the items for sale as they wandered round, and she hadn't failed to notice how Jane's arm was threaded through Lovejoy's; but she wasn't going to distract them from that. She bought a couple of nice things, some books and some videos, and was looking at one particular stall with a lot of old ornaments and a couple of tables. Lovejoy and Jane were still looking at the stall behind Jess, so they didn't see what she had found, but at the end of the stall she had been looking at, with items piled on top of it, flaking varnish, and rings of coffee stains, was a small table. She knew exactly what it was, with its ornate design carved into the surface. She knelt down, pretending to look at a box of old vinyl records on the ground, and glanced at the table underneath; sure enough, she saw the green baize between four folding leaves, which, when the table top was turned the other way, folded back to make a secret card table. It was a very nice collector's item from the 1920s, although this one, she was certain, was slightly older, possibly turn of the century.

'Dad come here a moment!' She shouted to Lovejoy and Jane as she shuffled some of the old records in her hands, pretending to show great interest in them, and as Jane and Lovejoy turned at the sound of Jess' voice, they looked at each other with confusion.

'Did she just call me dad?' He asked Jane quietly as they approached Jess cautiously.

'I think she just did,' Jane replied, equally as perplexed as Lovejoy.

'Oi Dad you should look at this record collection, it's almost as good as yours,' Jess said loudly, for the benefit of the stall holder, who was looking their way and smiling at them, in hope of them making a purchase. When Lovejoy began to look, with great confusion by now through the pile of records Jess had just handed him, whilst the owner was serving someone else, Jess spoke to him very quietly from the corner of her mouth. 'Look at the table.'

Still feeling somewhat confused, he did as Jess instructed him and realised instantly what she was referring to. The tingling sensation on the back of his neck intensified, his hands grew sweaty and his heart began to race. It was a nineteenth century gentleman's card table, complete with secret table top. He tried to subtly examine the table from the corner of his eye, and by glancing at the stall holder's other wares, he realised that this guy must be trade.

'I'll sell them for fifty pence each or ten pound for the lot, can't say fairer than that,' the man sat against the rear end of his car said, referring to the vinyl records still held in Lovejoy's grasp. 'I even have a record player here, circa 1970, but it still works.'

Jess then noticed the record player he was talking about, an old cased one, sat on top of the very table they were looking at. 'Wow it's beautiful, and in incredible condition too,' she opened the catches to look at it, trying to distract from Lovejoy's examination of the table. 'Well? Is it a nineteenth century card table or not?' She whispered to him.

'Yup,' he whispered subtly back, and then began to walk away casually, leaving Jess to deal with the seller. As he led Jane away she looked at him with utter confusion.

'Lovejoy what's going on?'

'That table is worth fifty grand, maybe more to the right buyer; I don't think he has a clue.'

They watched from the corner of their eyes as Jess purchased the old record player and vinyls, then haggled the stall holder for the table. She then collard Lovejoy over again to help her carry it.

'What on earth do you want with this old thing?' He asked, playing dumb.

'For my room; well some of us have taste you know,' she smirked as she handed the seller one hundred a forty pounds, one twenty for the table, and twenty for the records and record player, and waited until they were long out of earshot before they spoke.

'Good girl Jess!' He congratulated.

'But why on earth did you call him dad?' Jane asked, still a little perplex.

'Well, that bloke was trade, a bit inexperienced perhaps, but I knew that if I shouted "Lovejoy" across the field, he would probably know who I meant and then know that I was on to something really special; if he'd known that then he would probably never have sold the table to me, or would have bumped up the price.'

'Oh I see,' Jane replied in realisation, although the fact that Jess had sounded so natural when she'd said it, and Lovejoy had reacted so naturally when he'd heard it, it did leave Jane wondering about them both. They'd grown so close over the last few months, and he was really good to Jess, which made Jane grateful that Jess finally had a good father figure. 'Jess, how did you know that this was valuable?'

'I'm didn't know exactly, I just kind of…I dunno, felt it I guess.' Both Lovejoy and Jane looked at her in stunned silence.

'I'll make a dealer out of you yet Jess,' Lovejoy replied.

'So how much is it worth? A couple of thousand?' Jess asked with curiosity, but it wasn't about the money for her, it was about the beauty of the piece, and knowing that, with a little work, she could restore it to its former glory.

'Oh a couple of thousand, or there about, maybe if you add on another forty-eight thousand and you're about there,' he replied and Jess was shocked.

'What?! I can't believe it's worth as much as that!' She exclaimed.

'Well it is, and it's all yours Jess…'

'Ours Lovejoy…'

'Aw that's very sweet of you Jess, but you saw it, you negotiated for it and you paid for it, I had very little to do with it.'

'Yes, but after I've worked on restoring it, I want you to sell it for me. I'll split it fifty fifty with you,' Jess said with glee at the prospect of her first proper deal.

'That's the best deal you've ever had Lovejoy,' Jane said with a smile as she hooked her arm through his momentarily.

'Oh I don't know, the best part of the deal was having Jess as my daughter for five minutes,' he replied as they walked back towards the car.

Lovejoy's comment resonated a little pang with Jane as she thought about it all the way back to the range rover, and Jess' interest and clear talent for antiques made Jane think about how alike Lovejoy and Jess really were, which made her feelings for him intensify, just a little.

'I'm starving; can we go somewhere for an early dinner now?' Jess said with a huff as she lugged the heavy box of records into the boot.

'Yes I'm feeling rather peckish myself,' Jane replied as she walked round to the rear passenger seat, next to Jess, who climbed in the other side and looked a little confused, just as Lovejoy went to get into the passenger seat.

'Oh I take it I'm driving am I your Ladyship?' He mocked playfully.

'Well Lovejoy, you know my fantasy about chauffeurs,' Jane purred seductively, making Jess playfully roll her eyes.

'Yuk guys, get a room already,' she said, making Jane blush and giggle.

As Lovejoy set off they chatted about where they would get lunch. Jess wanted to go somewhere different, so Lovejoy suggested a place near Kiveton he knew, a little pub with a waterwheel. There was a nice country walk nearby, along the banks of the river. Jess loved the idea and thought it a brilliant suggestion, especially when they pulled into the car park. The first thing she did was take out her camera to photograph the idyllic place.

'This will make a perfect painting!' She exclaimed.

They sat and ate in the warm, old fashioned pub, before venturing out for a walk. The sun was just starting to set, casting a romantic glow on the evening. Jess sauntered on ahead of Lovejoy and Jane, who were walking arm and arm along the river bank.

'Thank you for a lovely day Lovejoy, I think Jess has had a fantastic birthday…and I've really enjoyed spending it with you too,' Jane said cautiously as she turned to face him nervously, with her heart racing beneath her ribs.

'You're a fantastic mother you know Janey; don't ever think otherwise, and don't ever let anyone ever make you think otherwise either. You're very much adored you know,' he said as he stood a little closer to her, rubbing her arms slightly as a light breeze made her shiver, blowing a strand of hair across her face, which he slowly brushed away with his thumb as he looked lovingly into her eyes.

Jess was quite a few yards away from them, but she saw this display of love and affection between them, and this time it was her turn for her heart to race, only with excitement. She was hoping and praying that their resolves were weakening and that, soon enough, they would have the courage to take the plunge and tell each other how they really felt. The looks they gave each other so often, such as the one they were giving each other now, was so full of intense love that Jess couldn't understand how they hadn't allowed anything to happen before now; and with that very thought, she raised her camera to her eye and caught a picture of the two of them together, capturing that very look in a moment of true passion.

They were unaware that Jess had taken a photograph of them, or that she was even watching them, in fact they were completely oblivious to most of what was going on around them; they were so swept up in the moment, that anything could have happened and neither of them would have noticed.

'Lovejoy, I…I just wanted to say that…that I'm so glad you're coming with us to Scotland; it'll be nice to spend time with you, away from here I mean, although it makes me wish that it was just us going…you, me and Jess you understand…' she stammered slightly.

Lovejoy really wanted to kiss her, there was nothing more that he wanted right now than to take her in his arms and kiss her properly; but after their tiff the night before, he wasn't certain that it wouldn't earn him a sharp slap to the face. However, her mentioning Scotland had given him an idea that being away from Felsham wasn't such a bad idea after all. It would mean that he could have her, relatively, all to himself, giving him time away from Brendan Chisholm to woo her.

He stayed the perfect gentleman the whole evening; he didn't even make an attempt at a flirtatious joke when Jane said, "you know Lovejoy, I do have other places to sleep other than my sofa, that are more pleasant and more comfortable.' She of course was referring to the spare bedrooms, and had fully expected him to joke about him sleeping in her bed, but he didn't even make even a slight reference to it, which had slightly wrong footed her. 'That's quite alright Janey, I'll be perfectly comfortable here,' he'd said to her and then she'd walked away and left him to it. Even on the journey up to Scotland, he hadn't once given her any flirtatious indication at all, most unlike him, and she was starting to fear that he'd lost interest in her, that perhaps their argument had affected their relationship more than she'd realised.

They shared the driving between the three of them, all the way up towards the Highlands of Scotland, which took them a total of twelve hours, since they had several stops on the way up. Mrs Cameron had packed them several sandwiches, cake and other fine samples of her cooking, which they picnicked on the journey up, although they stopped at Pitlochery in the evening for fish and chips.

'So where is it that we're going to again Janey?' Jess asked through her mouthful of battered haddock.

'Arisaig; the house and estate belongs to my sister's husband's family, his cousins if I remember correctly. They no longer live in the house, since they now have businesses in London, but they let the house out as a holiday home. It's a relatively big place; fourteen bedrooms, a billiard room and library and a dance hall, but it's main attraction is the loch. It's right on the banks of Loch Arisaig and surrounded by trees; it's very secluded, but not too far away from the village,' Jane explained.

'It sounds perfect Janey,' Jess replied, before screwing up her empty chip paper and putting it in the bin.

Jane drove them the rest of the way and finally pulled into the long driveway just before nine o'clock. They were all sleepy and exhausted, and delighted that their journey was finally over.

'So am I Lovejoy's niece again?' Jess asked as she supressed a yawn.

'No, I don't want to lie to Prue and mother; what I'll do is I'll just introduce you as Jess, nothing more and nothing less than that for now darling. Then in the morning, I'll take Prue out for a walk by the loch, and I'll tell her then. It'll be better if I tell her first, because she can then help me to tell mother. She's going to be the one most devastated when I tell her, so at least Prue can help me to break it to her gently.'

'OK Janey, but only if you're sure; I don't mind being Lovejoy's niece again if it makes it easier,' Jess replied.

'Well thank you darling for being so understanding, but let's see what happens,' Jane said as she turned off the ignition to be greeted by her older sister running out to her from the front door, giving Jess her first glimpse of her aunt.

Jane and Prue looked nothing alike. Although they were both very tall and slim, Prue was blonde with short, bobbed hair and tanned skin, whereas Jane's hair was now much longer and red. They did, however, have the same high cheekbones, rosy coloured lips and startling captivating eyes. Although Jane was the titled Lady, it seemed to Jess that Prue was the slightly posher of the two sisters.

'Jane darling, it's so wonderful to see you,' she said with a very posh accent, but a voice that seemed warm and genuine towards her younger sibling, as she hugged her sister tightly.

'And who's this?' Prue said with a warm friendly smile, very similar to Jane's, as she turned her attentions towards Jess.

'This is Jess. She's my new apprentice, and a fine and talented artist she is too. Jess, this is my sister Prue,' Jane introduced proudly, although it pained her to be only telling half the truth; she couldn't wait until she could tell Prue who Jess really was, even though she knew it'd cause tears and an argument, it would just be lovely to be able to be open and honest and tell the world that she was a mother.

'Well Jess, it's lovely to meet you. And Lovejoy, it's nice to see you too,' she greeted as Lovejoy kissed her on the cheek.

'It's nice to see you Prue, you're looking as fabulous as ever. Tell me, are you still married?' He replied cheekily, much to Prue's amusement.

'Alas dear heart I am,' she said as she feigned hurt.

'Oh well, there's always next time,' Lovejoy said with a playful smile.

'Honestly, you two get worse instead of better,' Jane replied.

'So Alexander decided not to join you again? That is a pity,' Prue said a little coldly, giving Jess the distinct impression that Prue wasn't very supportive of her brother-in-law.

'No he's away in Hong Kong. Shall we go in?' Jane said quickly, trying to avoid any further conversation about Alexander before she was ready to explain, but Prue wasn't silly, she could already tell that there was something going on, but she knew better than to press the matter.

As they carried their cases inside, Jess was stunned by the beauty of the entrance hallway, although she was a little put off by the mounted stag heads on the walls. There was a grand wooden staircase, paintings hundreds of years old and great rugs covering a wooden floor. There were doors everywhere, leading to many other grand rooms just waiting to be explored, which Jess couldn't wait to do.

'Jane it's good to see you, so glad you could come,' an older man said as he walked out of the room to their right, which Jess guessed was the billiard room by what she could see through the crack in the doorway. The man embraced Jane and she smiled warmly at him. He had short dark hair and a thick black moustache, all neatly trimmed and well kept.

'Myles it's always a pleasure,' Jane said.

She then introduced Jess, who was beginning to feel a little intimidated, nervous and shy the more and more she was introduced to Jane's family, well, her family. Next she was introduced to Jane's nieces, Rebecca, Samantha and Charlotte. They were really nice, and unlike Alex's niece Levinia, Jess knew that she was going to get on with these cousins. But suddenly it felt very strange to her to have such a large extended family, since all she'd ever had growing up was her mum and granddad. However, she still had one family member to meet before she could retire.

Prue led everyone into the library, where Jane's mum was sat by the fire with a glass of brandy and reading a book. Jess could instantly tell that Jane and Prue were her daughters; they were the spitting image of their mother, just thirty years in the future. She had long wavy greying hair, a stunning complexion with barely a line on her face and neat manicured hands. Jane definitely had her mother's looks, which made Jess wonder if Jane's personality was more like her father's.

'Hello mother!' Jane exclaimed as she walked towards her mother. They embraced tightly and both wore large smiles.

'How are you darling?' Jane's mother asked. 'You're looking well; Alexander must be taking very good care of you. Is he not with you?' She asked as she peered behind Jane to see where her son-in-law was.

'No mother he's not with me at the moment, he's away on business I'm afraid; but I've brought some friends along instead. You already know Lovejoy, but this lovely young lady here is Jess. I've just taken her on as my apprentice.'

Jess timidly held out her hand to shake her grandmother's, who seemed to give her a knowing look for some reason, but she gently shook the hand of the younger woman with a smile.

'It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Derbyshire,' Jess said formally, having no idea how she should address Jane's mum. Even though Jane had described her mother as very informal, Jess didn't think the older woman would appreciate being addressed informally by a complete stranger; however, Jess had been completely wrong.

'Oh don't worry about all that nonsense dear; I'm only Lady Derbyshire to doctors, council officials and the law. Since you seem to be none of those, you can call me Elle or Ellie,' Elle said, which made Jess smile broadly and all her uncertainties faded away.

'I have a rabbit named Ellie,' Jess giggled, which made Elle's smile broaden further.

'Have we met somewhere before dear?' Elle asked suddenly, as a feeling of familiarity overcame her as she looked at Jess, which made Jess feel nervous.

'I don't think so; I think I just have one of those faces,' she joked nervously in response, but Elle seemed unable to shake the feeling.

'Shall we all sit down and have a cup of tea?' Prue asked as she pulled at a handle on the wall to ring for the butler, an older man with neat grey hair and military stance about him. 'Ah Slater, my sister and her guests have arrived, might we have some tea and sandwiches?' She asked.

'Of course ma'am,' he replied as he then disappeared in the direction of the kitchens.

They all sat and drank tea and chatted for an hour or so, before they all decided that it was time to retire to bed. The three new comers to the party were exhausted after their long journey, so bed seemed more and more inviting as the minutes ticked by. They said goodnight to everyone before heading up, and just as Jane was climbing into bed, she heard a gentle, familiar tap on her door.

'You can come in Jess,' she called out, as Jess' little face appeared round the door.

'How did you know it was me?' Jess asked.

'Easy, you shuffle your feet when you walk, and you have a distinct knock.'

Jess climbed into the bed beside Jane to keep warm. The house was freezing and her hands and feet were frozen numb. She didn't do it very often, but Jane still loved it when Jess would climb in beside her, even if it was just for a few moments to say goodnight and chat through the events of their day. Occasionally Jess would fall asleep there, too tired to move, and Jane too happy to move her.

'Your family seem really nice Janey, I like them,' Jess said as she turned on her side and faced her mother, who then shuffled herself down further under the duvet and faced Jess.

'I'm glad. Are you alright with it all though? I would hate for you to be uncomfortable.'

'Yes, I'm OK; it's just a bit strange, to think that these complete strangers are my family, and I'm just a bit nervous about what will happen if you tell them the truth about me.'

'When Jess, when I tell them, and it will be alright, I promise you it will.'

'But how do you know Janey? I mean, you all seem so close together and clearly love each other, I don't want to be the cause of an argument or family fall out.'

'Now listen here young lady; don't you worry about a thing. I want you to enjoy this week as much as possible, and I want you to let me concentrate on what I'm going to tell them. It was me and Alexander who got us into this mess, so it's only right that I should bear the brunt of it, alright?' Jane replied reassuringly.

'How are you going to tell them?'

'Well, I'm going to speak to Prue on her own first thing tomorrow morning, and hope that everyone else will be out for the afternoon so that I can talk to mother.'

'I'm really not sure about this Janey…'

'Sweetheart it will be alright, trust me,' Jane comforted as she gently caressed Jess' cheek in an attempt to offer her solace, but nothing was going to help her nerves.

Jess kissed Jane goodnight and got out of the bed, smoothing the duvet neatly and walking towards the bedroom door, yawning slightly as she did so.

'Goodnight Mum,' she said as she gave Jane a little sleepy smile, before disappearing out into the hallway and then into her own room.

Jane laid awake for a few minutes and revelled in the fact that Jess had called her mum again. She was never going to force it with Jess and was never going to insist that Jess call her mum, but on the odd occasion that she did, Jane couldn't help but bask in the glory of that little word.

The next morning there was a very low lying mist over the damp grounds of Arisaig as the grass laid heavy with dew. The sun was just trying to poke through the cloud and the birds nearby were just starting to stir. Both Jane and Prue were up bright and early, much to Jane's delight, with Jess and Rebecca the only other two people up so early.

'Good morning girls, how are you both?' Jane asked brightly as she entered the dining room, where Jess and Rebecca were sat chatting sleepily. Jess seemed a little on edge, but was easing into the conversation, and Jane felt a little more relaxed to see her daughter fitting in.

'Fine thank you Janey,' Jess replied.

'Did you sleep alright Auntie Jane?' Rebecca asked, with a husky, but warm voice.

'Yes thank you. Honestly, after the journey we had I was asleep before my head hit the pillow,' Jane replied as she smiled at her niece.

'Did you girls sleep alright?' Prue asked as she joined her sister with a mug of hot coffee in each hand for both her and Jane.

'Yes thank you. That bed was so comfortable, it was great!' Jess exclaimed brightly.

'Well good, but if you need anything, just let me know and I'll sort it for you,' Prue replied warmly, instantly making Jess feel welcome and excited to get to know her new family. She could tell that Jane was nervous, since she kept fiddling with the pendant on its chain around her neck, and the way she kept biting her bottom lip too. She was gearing herself up to talk to Prue, which she prepared herself for as soon as her sister had drained the last drop of coffee from her mug.

'Isn't it a lovely morning Prue?' She said as she prepared herself for the decision she had just made. 'Fancy coming for a walk with me? You can show me the grounds.'

Prue had known since her arrival that Jane wasn't quite right, that there was something that was playing on her younger sister's mind, and she knew that, at some point, Jane would want to confide in her. She already suspected that things weren't good in Jane's marriage, so she wasn't going to be too surprised when Jane told her that Alex was gone, but of course she was only half right. As Jane led her sister outside, they walked down the narrow stone path towards the bank of the loch and waited until they were long out of ear shot before she even contemplated telling the Prue the truth.

'I'm glad that it's such a lovely morning,' she said as she walked with her arm hooked through Prue's.

'Hmm, well, it's supposed to be a lovely day, for a change. The girls were saying that they may take the canoes out later on and I thought we could get an open fire on the beach tonight.'

'That'd be lovely,' Jane replied slightly distractedly, just as they came to an area of the beach where the grass met the stone boulders, which were big enough to sit comfortably on.

'So, are you going to tell me what it is that's on your mind Janey? I'm assuming that it's to do with the elusive Alex?' Prue said with distain.

'Well yes it does but…oh Prue, I've made such a mess of things. I did something so stupid…I should never have done it…'

'You haven't had an affair have you Janey? It's Lovejoy isn't it?' Prue replied quickly, although not disapprovingly.

'No, I haven't had an affair. And Lovejoy and I are just friends, just really good friends. I would never have gotten through any of this if it wasn't for him.'

'Well then, you had better tell me what is going on.'

Whilst Jane sat and told Prue everything about Jess being her daughter and the adoption, Jess stood and watched, the best she could, from the window in her bedroom. She'd gone up on the pretence of getting showered and dressed, but she was still very much in her soft trousers and hooded jumper that she wore to bed. She couldn't see much of what was going on, Prue and Jane were too far away and hidden by trees, but she still looked and waited. She only drew her attentions away from the loch when she heard a knock on the door.

'Come in,' she croaked as Lovejoy entered. 'Morning Lovejoy,' she said with less enthusiasm than she normally gave him.

'Uh oh, something's up. What's happened?' He asked as he gave her a hug.

'Nothing yet I don't think. Mum and Prue have gone for a walk, she's about to tell her sister who I really am and it just unnerves me. Things have been so amazing between us lately after the whole Alexander thing, and I just don't want to do anything that will ruin what we have.'

'Don't you worry about a thing Jess; Janey knows what she's doing. There may be fireworks, because it's a big shock to them all, but trust me, her family are good people and will welcome you with open arms in time. If they accept me, then they can most definitely accept you,' he said as he held her by the shoulders and kissed her on the forehead before he grabbed her and pulled her into a comforting hug again.

Down on the beach things between Prue and Jane were going as badly as Jane had thought they would. Prue was feeling confused, angry, upset, guilty, sympathetic…every emotion imaginable. She was busy pacing in front of Jane, who was trying to answer all of Prue's questions, but every time Jane tried, Prue would interrupt her with a rant or another question.

'I can't believe you didn't tell me this Jane. You should have told me as soon as you found you were pregnant; you should have come to me the minute Alexander started showing any resistance! How could you just get rid of your only child for Christ's sake?!'

'Prue, I was trying to do what I thought was best at the time. You were away with Myles and the girls in America or Canada at the time, mother and father were away in Australia…I had no one here and Alexander made my life so difficult when I was pregnant…I just couldn't see any way out!' Jane tried to defend.

'That didn't mean that you should have abandoned your baby Jane! It's not as if you were a child, you could have managed without Alexander Felsham in your life, but as per usual he wrapped you round his little finger to do everything that he wanted you to do.' Prue lectured.

'Prue, don't you dare try to lecture me on whether or not I needed Alexander in my life; it wasn't just about me, it was about Jessica as well. I wanted her to have a father who loved her, and for her to grow up in a family that loved her. Alex would never have made the effort with her, she would have picked up on it and I didn't want her to ever question if she was loved by her parents. I bitterly regret ever making this decision, and I have done every day since I lost her Prue…' Jane sobbed, '…but I have her back now…' she tried to continue, but she broke down in unbearable sobs, just as strong as she had done the night she had lost her daughter, as all of those feelings flooded every fibre of her being.

Prue's heart broke as she sat down beside Jane and pulled her into a hug. They both cried together and clung onto the other for comfort. Although she didn't understand why Jane had felt that she'd had to make the decision she had, Prue felt guiltiest about the fact that she had never been given the chance to support her sister through such an awful time.

After a while Jane's sobs became less ferocious, but Prue held her sister tightly and spoke to her in a much softer tone.

'Does Jessica know all this?' She asked and Jane nodded her head before pulling away to look at her sister.

'Yes, I told her everything when she first came back to me. She didn't want anything to do with me at first, but then about a month later she got in contact with Lovejoy and told him that she'd had second thoughts. She moved to Felsham to be with me and pretended to be Lovejoy's niece so that Alexander wouldn't find out the truth.'

'And does he still not know?'

'He knows now. That's the other thing I need to tell you. He found out after he and I argued about Hong Kong. He's decided that since that's where most of his business is these days that he wanted to move out their permanently. He wanted me to go out there with him, he expected me to drop everything and go, but I have Jess now and I don't want to lose her again. Unfortunately, Jess arrived in the midst of the argument and assumed that I was about leave her; I told Alex there and then who she really was and why I wasn't going with him. Even in that moment there was still a part of me that was hoping that he might just change his mind about being a father, but he made it clear that he had no intentions of doing so. So he's gone; it's over between us Prue, for good this time,' Jane explained sadly.

'And where exactly does Lovejoy fit into all this?' Prue asked as she inclined her head towards the house.

'Lovejoy? Well, he doesn't exactly fit in anywhere as such; I mean he's been ever so brilliant with Jess, I couldn't have gotten through any of this without him actually…' Jane replied a little flustered as her already reddened tearstained cheeks became a little redder.

'Oh Janey, what a mess you're in,' Prue said, much calmer now than she had been initially. 'I just wish you'd shared this with me before now.'

'Why? Talking about her and what happened hurt me too much; for a long time, I could pretend that it had never happened, I coped, just about, but to be honest, around the time that Jess turned up, I hadn't been coping so well. She doesn't know this, but I'd been thinking about her a lot and was sinking into depression. If she hadn't come back when she did, who knows what state I'd have been in by now,' Jane gave a small laugh of disbelief as she admitted to something she hadn't even told Lovejoy. 'Alex never noticed how miserable I was becoming, and even though he doesn't know I was being treated for depression, Lovejoy knew that something wasn't right. I was probably going to tell him when Jess turned up. But she's changed everything Prue.'

'It sounds like Lovejoy has been your knight in shining armour,' Prue said with a knowing smile. She knew that nothing had ever happened between him and her sister, but she could see that they both had feelings for each other, and even though Lovejoy wasn't "their kind of people", she knew that they were perfect for each other. He might be a little rough around the edges, but at least he knew how to look after Jane, unlike Alexander. The thought of that man, made Prue's blood boil and he was lucky he was out of the country, for she didn't know what she would do to him if he wasn't.

'He has been I guess, mine and Jess'. He's really great with her you know, and I know she looks on him as her father figure. I've said it before, that's it's ironic that I gave her up to someone else because I wanted her to have a loving father, only for him to die when she was so little.'

'Well she has all of us now too, and we are a loving family. This is going to take time for all of us to get used to, but she's one of us, and we look after our own,' Prue said proudly as she then stood up and offered her hand to Jane. 'Come on, let's get back for breakfast. We'll figure out what we'll tell Mummy later.'

'Thank you Prue,' Jane said timidly.

'Don't thank me yet. I am still furious with you. I still don't understand how you could have chosen Alexander over your own daughter Jane. You could have managed on your own, and Myles and I would have helped you. It was extremely selfish to put us all in this position,' Prue said with annoyed tones as they walked back along the beach.

Jane flared her nostrils in annoyance at her sister's remarks and replied, 'Prue, that's not fair! But there is nothing you or anyone else can say or do that will make me feel any worse than I already do. I've missed out on twenty years, twenty years I will never get back, and that's the worst punishment there is!'

Prue sighed deeply, turned away from Jane and then began to walk again. Jane followed and they walked in awkward silence back towards the house. The air was sort of cleared between them, but they both still felt intense. Jess watched as they came in through the back door, and, now fully dressed, she quickly ran downstairs to her mother.

'Did you enjoy your walk Janey?' She asked politely, as she tried to think of a way to ask her mother about what had just happened between her and her sister, without actually asking, just in case it hadn't gone to plan.

'It's alright Jess, I've told her,' Jane replied, and Prue looked at her new niece with watery eyes.

'Ah...that must be quite a shock for you,' Jess said awkwardly.

'I haven't often found myself speechless I must say, but on this occasion I don't know what to say...'

Jess wasn't sure how Prue was reacting. She wasn't certain if she was being accepted by her aunt, or if she was needing to steal herself for rejection yet again. But if she was honest herself, Prue didn't know how to react either. She didn't want to overpower Jess, but her own emotions felt to be in freefall.

'…except to say that I'm sorry for everything that you've been put through, and that you needn't be afraid; everything will be alright now. It's going to take some getting used to for all of us, but you are very welcome here.'

Now it was Jess' turn to be teary eyed and speechless. Although she would never admit it to Jane, she was finding everything overwhelming, but she hadn't expected Prue to be so lovely towards her and understanding.

'I don't want you to be angry with Janey, it wasn't entirely her fault, it was mostly Alexander. Since I discovered the truth about being adopted and my natural parentage and everything, well she's been amazing, and very patient with me; I'm not the easiest person to live with sometimes. She made a mistake and it cost us both twenty years, but I had a very good mum growing up and come from a very loving family, although I can't wait to get to know my knew family properly,' Jess explained, which made Jane feel proud.

'Well we'll need to wait until we've told Mummy before we break the news to the others I'm afraid,' Prue explained cautiously, not wanting to make Jess feel like she was putting her off.

'I understand that, and I don't want to upset her; truth be told, I'll be glad when this is all over. I've had enough of all of the secrets and lies,' Jess said with frustration, releasing a pang of guilt from Jane.

'I'm sorry sweetheart, I never wanted this for you,' she said as she encouraged Jess to give her a hug.

'It's alright Mum…I mean, Janey; I know you're not deliberately doing anything to hurt me,' Jess replied. It had been the first time that she'd called Jane mum and had then corrected herself for it, which Jane didn't quite understand what it meant. Had she intended to call Jane mum and then felt awkward doing so in front of Prue, or had she previously done it subconsciously, and this time realised that she didn't want to?

'Good morning ladies!' Lovejoy said as he trotted down the stairs in a good mood.

'You're bright and cheery this morning Lovejoy,' Jane replied.

'Aren't I always Janey?' He said.

'Well that's true. Come on then, let's get some breakfast; I'm starving Jess, have you eaten yet?' Prue and Lovejoy heard Jane say as she and Jess disappeared in the direction of the dining room, leaving them in the hallway.

'Thank you Lovejoy for taking such good care of her, for taking care of both of them. She thinks a lot of you, I hope you know that,' Prue said to him in a serious tone.

'I know, and I think a lot of her too Prue. I care about both of them, Jane and Jess and I have tried to do my best for them.'

'I can see that Lovejoy, and I can see that they're both very lucky to have you,' Prue replied as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before walking passed him.

When they arrived in the dining room, joining Jane and Jess, everyone else was also down, tucking into plates of cooked eggs, bacon, tomatoes, different types of bread and various other meat products. They all chatted casually, and didn't notice the tension in the air.

'Jess we were thinking of going out onto the loch today in the boats, would you like to come?' Rebecca asked.

'I'd love to!' Jess exclaimed, delighted to be invited and to be made to feel welcome, and her response made Jane smile. Oh how she wished they'd all grown up together.

'And what are you and Lovejoy going to be getting up to today Janey?' Elle asked.

'Oh I'm not too sure mother, but I'm sure there'll be something we can all do. Perhaps we can go for a walk or a bike ride or something,' Jane suggested.

'I thought you might like to spend the afternoon with me and Mummy Janey; I thought we could sit and chat about old times,' Prue encouraged with a certain look at Jane.

'Well that would be lovely Prue,' Jane smiled nervously.

So that afternoon, after they'd had lunch and everyone then went about their various activities, Prue and Jane decided to sit with Elle. Neither of them had even the slightest clue how to break the news to her, so for a long time, they just chatted about when Jane and Prue had been girls.

'You were such dainty girls,' Elle said with a melancholy tone, 'and Jane you always seemed so fragile. I'll never forget when you both got chicken pox, you were both so grumpy with each other and no matter what I did to stop you from scratching, you always managed to scratch yourselves.'

The two sisters enjoyed reminiscing, and Jane felt a little saddened that Jess wasn't there to enjoy the stories too, but she knew that she couldn't keep her daughter on a tight leash, and sometimes had to let her go, although she was delighted that she was bonding with her cousins.

'Jane darling, why don't you open that bottle of wine?' Prue asked.

'Oh go on then,' Jane replied with a smile, grabbing the bottle and a cork screw.

'So how did you meet young Miss Carter Janey? She seems awfully familiar,' Elle said.

'Well…um…she…er…' Elle had taken Jane completely by surprise by her question, making Jane's heart race and her throat constrict. Now was the time to do it. 'It's rather complicated I'm afraid…'

'Janey? Prue? Are you here?' Jess' voice called out from the hallways, buying Jane a little more time.

'We're in here,' Jane called back.

Jess entered the private den with a towel round her shoulders and her hair dripping wet. She looked a little cold, but full of high spirits.

'Jess what on earth happened to you?!' Jane gasped with concern.

'Oh nothing much, me and the girls got a bit carried away and, well, I kinda fell in. It's bloody freezing in that lake, I can tell ya,' Jess said, her London twang more pronounced than normal for some reason. 'So I came in and changed. I'll grab a bath later, but wondered if it's alright if I come sit by the fire for a while?'

'Of course it is!' Jane said as she shuffled back from her position a little bit and Jess immediately went to sit in front of Jane, who naturally took the towel from her daughter's shoulders and began to rub Jess' hair dry with it. They both forgot themselves for a few moments, forgot that they were with Prue and Elle and just acted naturally for a few moments, as if they were home in Felsham Hall.

'Jane was just about to tell me about how you two met Jess,' Elle said after a few moments, a comment that made both Jess and Jane freeze.

'Oh was she, well isn't that an interesting story,' Jess said as she urgently looked back at Jane.

'Are you from Felsham?' Elle pressed.

'Yes I am, well, I was born there, but I grew up in London. My father was in the army, although he was killed when I was five, and my mother was a nurse, she died a few months ago,' she explained and now that she'd started, she knew that she needed to continue, and just hoped that Jane would pick the story up soon.

'Oh I am sorry for your loss dear, that must be terribly hard for you,' Elle said.

'It is in a way. I miss them both a lot and I don't have any brothers or sisters. I have a granddad, but no other family, or so I thought. You see, I discovered after my mother died that I was adopted, that's how I met Lovejoy and Janey, I met them whilst I was trying to trace my birth parents.'

'I see. Well Janey dear, that was nice of you to take Jess under your wing, wasn't it?' Elle said, but her tone conveyed that she was beginning to understand where the story was going. 'But I get the feeling that there's more to this story than you are both telling me, isn't there?' She prompted.

'Oh Mother, I'm so sorry…' Jane said as her eyes flooded with tears.

'I knew that there was something familiar about her as soon as she stepped through the door,' Elle said calmly, but her eyes were wild with angry tears and her nostrils were flared. 'I think you've got some explaining to do, and you better make it a damn good explanation Jane!'

'I am Jess' mother, she found out and came looking for me a few months ago when she realised that she was adopted. She's mine and Alexander's daughter, but he forced me to give her up for adoption when he suddenly announced that he didn't want children,' Jane explained quickly. 'He made my life unbearable for nine months, his mother was the only one fighting in my corner and when she died I had no one else to turn to. You were all away and he made me believe that I wouldn't get your support and that I most definitely wouldn't have had his. He wanted nothing to do with Jess and I wanted her to have a good life, a happy life…'

'You should have told me Jane. How could you do that? How could you disperse of your own child?' Elle was livid, and the conversation made Jess feel so guilty and uncomfortable.

'Please don't be angry with her, it's Alexander who deserves your anger. When he discovered who I was when I returned…you should have heard the way he spoke to Janey. He didn't treat her as if he loved her the way she deserves; he was looking at it as something else to further his career. All he wanted was a trophy wife and he didn't want a child to get in the way of all of that. And now, he doesn't want to acknowledge me because he doesn't want his business associates to know that he forced his wife to get rid of her only child.'

'And you can forgive her, just like that? Even though she has lied and deceived you and the rest of us? Her own family, her own flesh and blood?!' Elle said with a raised voice.

'Mummy please, it's not Jess' fault; she never asked to be put into this situation, but I don't believe Jane did either. I told you years ago that I thought Alexander's attitude towards Jane was unacceptable. He often spoke of his business dealings and clients with more love and respect than he did about Jane,' Prue defended, and Elle knew that she was right.

'I know I should never have let him persuade me that giving Jess up was the best thing, because I know that he considered it to be the best thing for him and didn't consider me, but I lost my little girl and I cannot get that time back. I will never be able to experience having children again, and watch their first steps, their first words, their first day of school; for the rest of my life I am going to have Jess by my side knowing that I experienced none of those,' Jane sobbed again and she closed her eyes and held Jess tight as her daughter turned around to face her and hugged her close to try and comfort her.

'I can't even begin to tell you how much Janey…Mum…means to me. When I first discovered I was adopted and who she was…I was so angry, I was consumed with anger and bitterness, and with grief too, that I very nearly didn't allow myself to get to know the wonderful person and mother that she truly is. And I know what Alexander said about me the morning he found out who I was,' Jess said as she looked at Jane, 'about me wanting to get close to you only because I thought there'd be money in it, but that's not true.'

'I didn't realise that you'd heard that sweetheart,' Jane said as she choked on a sob.

'Yes I did, but I didn't mention it until now, because I knew that you didn't believe that; you know that I couldn't care less about money or your status,' she said to Jane as she gently wiped away her tears. 'Truth be told, when I discovered how young my biological mother was, before I actually met Mum, well I assumed that she must have been a young single mother, too young for a kid and that I was probably the product of a drunken fumble, but the truth is worse in some respects, because I was loved and wanted by my mother, and loathed by my father for just existing.'

Jess' words had really touched Elle, who hadn't expected such wise words you're a girl so young. The love between mother and daughter was so strong and so clear, that she found is very touching.

'Please don't be angry at her. If I can forgive her and move on, then so should you,' Jess said finally, and Elle gave her a smile at her stubbornness and tenacity.

'This is going to take me time to get my head around. I am angry, I am hurt and I am upset, there is very little that is going to change that…I need to get my head around this, it's going to take me time…I have another granddaughter.'

'I hope we can still get to know each other,' Jess said timidly.

'Of course we can,' Elle replied.

'We want to welcome you to the family Jess, but you will have to be patient with us; as Mummy says, we have a lot to come to terms with,' Prue added.

'And likewise, it's a lot for me to come to terms with too. I've never aunts and uncles before, or cousins…or at least, the last cousin I met ended in disaster,' Jess added, much to the confused brows of Prue and Elle.

Jess and Jane filled in the events of the dinner in which Jess met Levinia and Alexander, and over the next few hours Jane explained about what had transpired with Alex in more detail, regarding her pregnancy and what had happened when Jess returned. Elle didn't know who she was most livid with, Jane or Alexander, but by early evening, when everyone else was returning home for dinner, Elle had begun to realise that Jane really was as much of a victim of her circumstances as Jess had been. Thankfully for them all, she was a lot less angry by night fall.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Jess and Jane decided that they needed some time out with just them, and Lovejoy if he wanted to join them, which of course he did; any excuse to spend time with his favourite girls. Although the secret was now out among all jane's family, after Prue had broken the news to her daughters the night before, tension between them was high, and Jane didn't want to surround her daughter with that.

'Well honestly Lovejoy, my daughter has been through enough without having to be exposed to their high emotions. I know that it's come as a shock to them, of course it has, and I understand that they need to deal with it, but I can't subject Jess to their speculations, ridicules or questions,' Jane had said in her bedroom after she'd called him inside.

He had been sat on the bed watching her pace up and down in front of him as he tried to get a word in edge ways. She amused him when she was like this, because he knew that she was freaking out, but she wouldn't let him help calm her down. So he stood up whilst she was mid-pace and allowed her to walk into his arms. He held her there tightly a for a few moments, and she slowly breathed in his aftershave. Her head nestled neatly under his chin and he kissed the top of her head.

'It'll be alright Janey,' he whispered. 'You've got a good family, they're just in shock, and Jess knows that. She knows what it's like to come to terms with such a secret, you just need to give them all space and time to get used to it.'

'You're right, of course you're right. I'm sorry Lovejoy,' she said as she lifted her head from his chest and glanced up at him.

He kissed her gently on the nose and then on the lips, a soft chaste kiss that was only very brief, but made the hair on the back of her neck stand up and her skin erupt in goosebumps.

'I do know how you feel Janey,' he said gently and quietly as he looked into her eyes.

'Do you really Lovejoy? Because I have so often wondered if you really have any idea how I feel at all,' she whispered back, and then, neither of them were sure if they were referring to them or to Jane's situation, it had suddenly merged into one long list of confusion.

However, they were interrupted by a subtle knock on the bedroom door as Jess walked sheepishly inside. Even though they weren't positioned as closely as they had been just a few seconds earlier, they didn't break apart when Jess came in.

'I'm ready,' Jess said sorrowfully. She felt so guilty for all the distress she had caused. 'Janey, I'm so sorry…' she began to tearfully say.

'Don't be Jess, it's all fine; they just need space and time to come to terms with it all,' Jane replied and Lovejoy held out the arm that had been around Jane. Jess walked straight into his embrace, with one arm wrapped around Jess and one wrapped around Jane, he kissed the tops of both their heads.

'That's exactly what I just said Janey, I'm glad to see you're listening to me at last,' he joked and she gave him a smile.

'Only occasionally; don't let it go to your head,' she replied with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

'Come on, let's get going,' Lovejoy said as he very reluctantly pulled himself away from them, but not before he gave Jane's hand a squeeze and rubbed her left hand, when he suddenly noticed that she wasn't wearing her wedding or engagement rings, something that, up until now, she hadn't felt ready to completely get rid of. She noticed him rub her finger, and noticed him looking at her, to which her response was to give him a knowing smile and slight nod. Her days of associating herself with Alex in anyway were now well and truly over.

As they climbed into the range rover, they talked about what they were going to do for the day. They each had a few ideas of places that they wanted to go, but if he was truly honest, Lovejoy was just happy to have Jane and Jess all to himself.

'There's an old medieval church nearby that I really wanted to look at. Apparently it's unique in the area for its clear progression through time, since you can see what parts have been added through the ages,' Jess said as she read the description from the book she'd been reading.

'There's a really nice walk into the village from that church as well,' Jane said as she looked at Lovejoy, who was doing the driving.

'Well that settles it then, church first and then we'll walk into the village for some lunch,' he replied.

He followed Jane's directions down the narrow, single track country roads, which twisted and turned round the edge of the loch, until they disappeared down a wider, tree ladened road and into the village of Arisaig itself. It had been long bought out by the community, so no longer belonged to Myles' family, but it had once been part of the great estate. The family still own much of the estate land nearby though and still contributed directly to the community's endeavours. The church was small and quaint in comparison to the churches they were used to in England, but Jess still loved it.

As they pulled up outside they could hear the very faint playing of organ music, but the sound was too distorted outside for them to tell what it was being played. Jess and Jane got out of the car and looked at the beautifully planted flowers in the small garden at the front of the church, an area clearly maintained and loved. The music stopped playing for a brief moment, until it started again, a much quicker melody than the previous one played. They gathered together at the door and Jane pushed it open, where the music instantly grew louder. They had been expecting to hear a familiar Scottish tune or hymn, but were quite surprised by what they heard.

They took a few more steps inside and were amazed by the sheer beauty of the church inside, but it was the music that had them moving most. Jess stood behind Janey and Lovejoy, who happened to notice a stunning arrangements of flowers just to the side of them. Whilst Jane's attentions were diverted by the stained glass windows, he grabbed a red rose from the vase and placed it between his teeth, before jumping in front of Jane in an "Ole" fashion.

'Lovejoy, don't you dare!' She whispered as she then went to turn to walk away from him, only for him to grab her wrist, spin her very quickly round and pull her in closely to him.

'In this town you dance with the man who brought you,' he said with a slightly muffled Mexican accent, which made Jane smirk a little. He then transfixed her with a look of concentration as they began to tango in time to the tune being played, "Adios Muchachos".

They were so lost in their dance that they were completely oblivious to Jess, who of course was transfixed by their dance and wasn't failing to take the opportunity to get photographs of them dancing. As she watched them she found herself softly and quietly singing along.

'When we are dancing  
And you're dangerously near me  
I get ideas, I get ideas  
I want to hold you  
So much closer than I dare do  
I want to scold you  
'Cause I care more than I care to

And when you touch me  
And there's fire in every finger  
I get ideas, yes, I get ideas  
And after we have kissed goodnight  
And still you linger  
I kinda think you get ideas too

Your eyes are always saying

The things you're never saying

I only hope they're saying

That you could love me too

For that's the whole idea, it's true

The lovely idea

That I'm falling in love with you'

She sang and for the first time she truly appreciated the lyrics and how apt they were for her mum and Lovejoy. She watched them as they swayed to the rhythm of the music, and smiled as the skirt of Jane's dress flared out stunningly. Jess felt overwhelmed by how stunning her mum was, and wished that she and Lovejoy would get together. As she stood there watching as their dance came to an end, she found herself praying to God that they would finally be allowed to be together, and that she could finally have the family she deserved. She finished her prayer just in time to see Lovejoy dip Jane and for her to swiftly pluck the rose from his mouth with her teeth in a very slick move.

'Where did you learn to dance like that?' Lovejoy asked with amazement.

'More to the point, where did you?' Jane asked with a muffled voice since she still had the rose in her mouth.

'Wow guys, the way that you two danced just then, you could be on Come Dancing,' Jess said as she approached them with a large smile and watery eyes.

'That certainly was something to behold,' the Reverend said as he stepped out from behind the small organ and clapped his hands.

'I'm awfully sorry about that Reverend, but once…'

'Well once I heard that music Reverend, I just couldn't help myself,' Lovejoy replied and finished off Jane's sentence.

'Well you and your wife are more than welcome to dance like that at any time. It's lovely to see a young couple who can be as carefree as that,' the Reverend complimented, and Jess tried to hide her smile and slight giggle. She fully expected Jane to correct the reverend, but she didn't; she just smiled shyly and quickly asked about the church.

'It's a stunning church Reverend…' she said as she led him away from Lovejoy and Jess, who were giggling like two school girls.

'Honestly, you two are frustrating,' Jess said to him in a whisper.

'What on earth do you mean Jess?' He replied, feigning innocence, even though he was clearly watching Jane and not looking at Jess.

'You and Mum; you're so right for each other, you belong together, and yet Alexander has been away for months and you still haven't made a move further with her. Brendan Chisholm seems like a nice man and all that, but it isn't him I want as a stepfather you know.'

'Has Janey talked much about this Brendan guy?' Lovejoy asked with a slight jealous tone.

'She mentioned him last night briefly, although she didn't say much, but I think she's questioning her reasons for wanting to go on a date with him.'

'Oh really? And what are those reasons exactly?'

'Well since people have found out that she and Alexander are…'

'…semi-detached?'

'Yeah, well, ever since then she's been inundated with admirers and most of them have been married peers believe it or not. Brendan was different towards her apparently, he made her feel special. But I don't think she's actually that into him to be honest.'

'Has she said that?'

'Sort of, well not in so many words, it was just the way she was talking about him, and then the way she was talking about you, she talks about you very differently you know,' Jess said before Jane and the reverend re-joined them, putting an end to their conversation, but enough had been said to give Lovejoy food for thought.

The reverend talked to them for a little bit longer about the church and its history, which both Jess and Jane loved, but Lovejoy was distracted thinking about what Jess had just said. He wanted Jane more than anything else, but right now just didn't seem like the appropriate time. She was still distressed about what was going on between her and her family, and she needed to concentrate on fixing that relationship before considering starting a new one; but if he didn't make a move soon, would he run the risk of losing her forever?

Just before they left the church to walk outside, Jess walked over to the burning candle stand, put some money into the donations box, and then said a prayer before lighting two candles and placing them on their holders. Jane felt a little pang as she watched her daughter allow herself a brief moment of grief, but then Jess took a third candle and did the same thing. Jane wasn't certain who the third candle was for, but she knew that now wasn't the time to ask.

They walked outside together and felt the light breeze around them. The sun was shining and the birds were singing, and it felt like a great day as they walked towards the range rover, but just before they climbed inside, another car pulled into the car park; it was Samantha, Charlotte and Rebecca, who quickly climbed out and jogged towards them.

'Mum mentioned that you were coming here, I'm glad I caught you' she said as she jogged over to them. 'We're going to drive into town about thirty miles away, we thought we could do a bit of shopping and spend some time together; we'd love it if you'd come with us Jess,' she said with a smile.

'Oh really? That'd be really nice,' Jess replied, slightly taken aback by the invitation, as she glanced at Jane to make sure that it was alright. She was also delighted to realise that if she did go, it would leave Lovejoy and Jane on their own.

'That's alright with me Jess if you want to go; just make sure you're all back for dinner, otherwise Granny will have your guts for garters,' Jane joked.

Jess kissed her mum and Lovejoy goodbye and happily went off with her cousins. Jane was slightly worried about how they might treat Jess after their shock from the night before, but she was delighted to see them making an effort and trying to make Jess feel welcome and like one of them.

'So it's just you and me now Lovejoy. Where shall we go for that lunch then?' Jane asked as she threaded her arm through his and they began to walk into the village.

They stopped to look in a few of the shop windows, and Jane laughed with delight at the sight of Lovejoy trying on one of the "See you Jimmy" hats, which she found even funnier when the shop owner glared at him for attempting a Scottish accent. They quickly disappeared further down the street after that and came across a quaint little tea shop that served homemade soups, sandwiches and cakes.

'This looks like a nice place Lovejoy,' Jane said.

'Well you're the boss. If this is where her Ladyship wants to eat, then who am I to disagree,' he replied with a smile.

They found a table for two in the far corner of the tea room beside the fire and they sat and looked at the menu for a few moments.

'I do hope Jess will be alright,' she said.

'She'll be fine. Your nieces are good girls, they'll look after her and they're trying to make an effort. But it's like you said last night, it's just going to take time for them all to get used to it, but at least they're trying.'

'I know you're right Lovejoy, and it'll be good for her to get away from me for a while. I want her to have friends other than me and you and people her own age, but, I'm just finding it hard to let go I guess,' Jane explained, and smiled as Lovejoy reached across the table and clasped her hand in his.

'I know you still find it all difficult Janey, it's not easy being a parent sometimes,' he replied. 'But she loves you, very much, you just have to hear the way she talks about you to know that.'

'I'm beginning to think that you're right. She's knowingly called me mum quite a few times over the last week, I can't tell you what it means to hear that.'

'I know it means a lot to you Janey, it means a lot to her too. She will quite often refer to you as mum in conversation, well to me at least. And I think the fact that she came to your defence so quickly when you told Prue and your mother about her, well that took guts for her to do, but it's a credit to how much she cares about you,' he replied as he caressed her hand and traced her ringless finger. He glanced up at her and they lingered, just a moment, and just as he was about to tell her he loved her and how much she meant to him…

'Are you ready to order?' The young waitress asked them as she approached their table.

With the moment gone they both ordered tea, soup and a sandwich each, which they ate happily over quiet conversation. They talked a lot about Jess, about how much she'd grown as a person since they first met her and how proud they were of her. To hear them talk, they both sounded like proud parents, and then their conversation turned to Alexander.

'I wasn't aware that she'd heard what Alexander had said about her only wanting to be with me for the money, I thought she'd gone out of the room at that point. Honestly, I could strangle the man,' Jane explained to Lovejoy what Jess had said the night before.

'Has he made contact again since he left?'

'No he hasn't. He phoned me from Hong Kong to let me know that he'd got there safely, but that was the last I heard, well from him at least. I haven't told Jess this because she'd be furious if she knew, but I heard from a family friend that he's seeing someone else. Apparently it had been going on for a couple of years at least,' Jane explained sadly. 'This friend said that when Alex had told him about her, he said that his relationship with this girl was equal to the relationship that I have with you.'

'But Alexander knows about us, I mean he knows that there's nothing to know,' Lovejoy replied with outrage.

'To be honest Lovejoy, I thought that I would feel something when I heard that, but I don't. It just makes me want to focus on my relationship with Jess more.'

'And what about Brendan Chisholm? Where does he fit into your plans?' Lovejoy asked, trying to hide the tones of jealously.

'I'm not sure he does to be honest Lovejoy. It's taking me a while to get my ahead around being with anyone else after Alexander. I did love him you know and we were together for a long time, but whoever I go with has to understand that even though Jess is now a young woman, she comes first in my life, and I'm not sure that many men will understand that.'

A few miles away, Jess was having a similar conversation with her cousins. Their lunch wasn't quite as classy as the one her mother was having, since they were sat in the food court of the shopping centre.

'Mum hates the idea of us being somewhere like this,' Charlotte said as she sipped her milkshake.

'She hates the idea of fast food and chain restaurants, she's a little bit of a food snob,' Samantha filled in.

'A food snob? She's a snob all round, but she's nice Jess,' Rebecca added.

'It's strange for me to have all these extra family members I can tell you, but I'm really glad that you all know now. It's been playing on Janey's mind a lot since Alex left,' Jess replied.

'I can't believe that he would do such an awful thing. I always used to really admire him and Aunt Jane, I thought that they had something really special, but I always thought it was sad that he was away so much,' Samantha commented.

'That's what's so ironic about the whole situation. He told her that he didn't want kids because neither of them had time for them, but he was never there anyway,' Jess said.

'Still, it must feel strange for you to find out about all these relatives you never knew you had,' Rebecca said.

'It is strange. At first I didn't plan for any of this really, I just wanted to find out why I was adopted and try to figure out why I was never told. I didn't want another mother or another family, because I did have a great mum already and I love my granddad, but I began to realise that I do have room in my life for two families,' Jess explained.

'So do you call Janey mum?' Samantha asked, before receiving a swift slap on the arm from Rebecca. 'Ouch! What was that for?' She said as she rubbed the red mark.

'You can't just ask that Sam!'

'It's OK, really, I don't mind,' Jess said with a giggle. 'Although to be honest it's not a conversation she and I have had, in fact, I've never even really had the conversation with myself. I have called her mum occasionally, because I have started to really see her as my mum rather than as my friend, so it feels right and respectful that I call her mum, but…I don't know…sometimes it feels strange, like I'm betraying my adopted mum,' Jess said sadly.

'I'm sorry Jess, I didn't mean to upset you,' Samantha said awkwardly.

'No you've not upset me, don't worry about it. And I realise that you guys must have loads you want to know, so feel free to ask me,' she replied with an encouraging smile.

'What was your adopted mum like?' Charlotte asked, and Jess filled them in on her childhood. They enjoyed comparing notes about their respective mothers, and unlike her run-in with Levinia, Jess enjoyed listening to her cousins talking about Jane when they were children. It sounded like she'd enjoyed spending some time with her sister and nieces when they were growing up.

Jess felt glad that she was able to spend that time with her new cousins and now had new friends that she could hang out with. She felt so relaxed in their company and they were so accepting of her, it felt as if they'd known each other all their lives. Jess had made the assumption that they would have been posh and pretentious like Levinia had been, and would have judged her for being who she was, or assumed, as Alexander had done, that she was only interested in Jane for her money; but the girls didn't think any of that at all, in fact, it had never crossed their minds. They felt bad for Jess after everything she had been put through, and couldn't imagine what it was like to have lost and gained so much in such a short time.

By late afternoon they were exhausted from shopping and drove home ladened with bags. When they arrived home, the atmosphere of the house instantly hit them and changed their moods slightly. Everything still felt very tense, but all at least seemed calm.

'Janey?!' Jess called out with a happy, bright tone as she walked in through the front door.

'We're in here Jess!' Jane called back from the dining room and when Jess entered, she had expected to see just Jane and Lovejoy, but instead she found Jane, Prue and Elle sat having tea and talking.

'Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise that you were all here, I didn't mean to interrupt you,' she said awkwardly as she tried to head back out of the room.

'You haven't interrupted anything Jess,' Jane said.

'Come sit with us child,' Elle said as she encouraged Jess over into the chair beside her mother. 'You look exhausted after your day,' she added.

'Although I hope you and…well…your cousins, had fun,' Prue said, faltering slightly as to what to say.

'Yes we had fun thank you, and it's alright to call them my cousins you know. I don't want you all to feel as if you have to tiptoe delicately around me, I am alright with how things are,' Jess explained politely and glanced lovingly at Jane, who smiled encouragingly towards her.

'And you don't feel that you're betraying the memory of your adoptive mother?' Elle asked bluntly, but not unkindly. The last thing she was trying to be was unkind toward the young woman.

'No I don't. I mean, I did when Janey first explained the truth about what had happened between her and Alexander. I had felt bitter and angry towards her when I first arrived in Felsham, but then when I found out the truth, I felt sad for her, and initially I didn't want to feel sorry for you Janey,' she explained as she became a little teary. 'To feel sorry for you meant that it was some sort of acceptance, but to accept what had happened meant that I was accepting you, and to accept you felt like I was being disrespectful to Mum, that was the real reason I ran away that morning, after you told me. It took me a while to realise that I could never replace my mum, because being a parent is more than just biology. I will always love my mum and she always will be part of my life, but I realised that I wanted to have a relationship and friendship with Janey too, but more than that, I want you to be my mum Janey. I want to be able to call you mum without anyone feeling strange or awkward about it, and I want you all to be my family if you wanted to be,' Jess explained finally, leaving everyone feeling emotional and teary eyed.

Jane didn't know what to say, as tears ran down her cheeks. She held her daughter close and gently kissed her head. Jess clung on to Jane and sobbed slightly as a lot of emotions hit her at once.

'And what about Alexander? Where does he fit into your life?' Elle asked, and then watched as Jess sat up, with her eyes red and her cheeks tear stained.

'He doesn't,' Jess replied as she wiped her sore eyes. 'He had his second chance and he blew it. I would have given him a chance if he'd wanted one, even after everything Janey had said about him, after everything he had done, I would have given him a second chance, but he doesn't want it, nor does he want me.'

There was silence in the room for a few moments, until there was a soft knock on the door and Lovejoy walked in. He hadn't wanted to interrupt them, but he really wanted to make sure that they were alright.

'I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I'm just checking on you,' he said softly, and Jess instantly went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, and without hesitation he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head, which was neatly nestled into his neck for comfort. 'Are you OK?' He whispered to her, and she slowly nodded her head.

'This is my dad,' she said. 'He's the only father figure I need in my life, and he's already been a better dad to me than Alexander ever could be,' she explained, and Lovejoy felt very touched by her explanation.

'Well, you can have me for as long as you want me,' he said, as he kissed her forehead, and this time it was Jane's turn to feel touched and emotional, as she watched her daughter bonding with the man that she was starting to admit to herself that she loved.

That night everyone was exhausted. Elle, Prue and Myles had long since gone to bed, along with Jess who was emotionally drained. Lovejoy was just heading up, leaving the three sisters to chat, when he saw Jane coming out of Jess' bedroom.

'I was just checking on her, to make sure she's alright. Is that weird?' She asked, a little concerned that her actions may seem over the top.

'No, that's not weird at all Janey, it just means that you care about her. How is she?' He asked in a whisper.

'She's hard and fast asleep,' Jane whispered back.

'Well it's been an exhausting couple of days for her,' he said as they took a couple of steps towards Jane's bedroom door.

'It certainly has been. I hope she didn't embarrass you earlier, when she said what she did about you being her dad,' she asked uncomfortably.

'No she didn't embarrass me. I'm honoured that she thinks of me that way. She's an amazing kid, I care a lot about her and if she wants to think of me as her father figure, then I'm happy with that,' he said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around Jane and she nestled into his chest, just as Jess had done earlier.

'I still can't believe she's here sometimes, or that she's really mine. Sometimes none of this feels real, but I do love her and I want so much for her, to be happy and to feel loved. The girls seem to have really taken to her, which I'm glad about, and I know that Prue and Mother will treat her no differently than family once they've truly come to terms with it all, it's just…'

'How they're going to think of you after this is all over,' he filled in.

'Exactly. Then again, if they never think of me the same way, or it affects our relationship, it's no more than I deserve I suppose,' she said harshly, making Lovejoy pull her chin up to look into her eyes.

'Don't be so harsh on yourself Janey; you need to remember that you are the one who loves Jess, and giving her up wasn't your choice. But also, you need to stop living in the past and worrying about that aspect of your relationship with her. Jess loves and cares about you now as much as you do for her. It's time that you found a way to move on,' he whispered as he brushed her cheek, and for a few moments their eyes were locked in a soft, tender moment.

'Thank you for that Lovejoy,' she whispered after a few moments, almost breaking the spell that was between them. 'Goodnight,' she added, but still made no real attempt to move.

'Yeah, goodnight Janey,' he said as he lingered a few second longer, and then found himself moving very slowly towards her lips.

She let him kiss her, gently at first, but then their kiss became deeper and much more meaningful. He was still very much aware of who he was kissing, and he didn't want to rush her or make her feel uncomfortable, although she didn't particularly seem in a hurry to push him away. Quite the contrary, she was enjoying being with him, and felt her skin erupt with goosebumps again. He was the only man who had ever evoked that reaction from her.

Eventually he did pull away from her, and they smiled at each other with surprise. Even though it wasn't the first time they had kissed, this time felt very different than the other times. Something else was definitely on the cards, and becoming more of a reality every second.

'Goodnight Janey,' he said finally as he released her at allowed her to slip into her room. He walked down the corridor to his own bedroom, and glanced back at her closed door, before slipping into his own room.

That night they all slept soundly. It was the first proper night's sleep they'd had since they'd arrived, and the next morning when they woke, they were glad of it. They all felt rested and relaxed, and for Jane, her mind felt much clearer about what she wanted, or rather who it was that she wanted.

'Good morning Lovejoy,' she said brightly as they met in the corridor, and she took him by surprise when she placed a slow, loving kiss to his lips. It was nothing like their previous kiss, but it was definitely different from their usual morning greetings.

'Morning Janey,' he said as he walked down the stairs with her, his hand just resting lightly on the small of her back, which she didn't shrug off or move away from; if anything, he thought he felt press more into his touch.

'Good morning everyone,' Jane said as they entered the dining room, to find everyone already down to breakfast, and Jess hadn't failed to notice them coming down together. As she lifted her glass of orange juice to her lips, she gave Jane a slight smirk. As she sat down opposite her daughter, Myles came into the room looking very happy.

'Darling, Johnny's just arrived,' he announced.

'Damn and blast!' Prue said, as she remembered the open invitation they had given to Myles' business partner.

'Johnny? As in, Johnny Brinton-Taylor?' Lovejoy asked in a whisper to Jane.

'That's the one,' Jane replied, a little on edge.

Lovejoy didn't like Johnny Brinton-Taylor. It's not that the man had ever done anything to Lovejoy, it's just that he didn't like the way Johnny flirted with Jane, and if he wasn't mistaken, Jane was a little attracted to him too.

'Who's Johnny?' Jess asked, a little concerned.

'He and Myles work together, they're business partners actually,' Prue explained as she got up and walked towards her husband. 'Darling I'm not sure this is a good idea after everything that's going on,' she said to Myles as she nodded in Jess' direction, who then felt a little bit awkward, as if everyone was judging her, but they weren't, they all just wanted to protect her and themselves.

'Well I can't very well turn him away can I?' Myles replied, and Prue knew he was right.

'Well, you'll just have to keep him out of the way as much as possible,' Prue replied sharply.

'I'll take him fishing,' Myles mumbled as he disappeared quickly out of the room.

'Well then, since Myles has decided what he's doing for the day, what are the rest of you going to do?' Elle asked.

'Well, I thought I might spend some time with you, if that's all right?' Jess asked a little timidly.

'I was hoping to get some time with you,' Elle said with a smile at her granddaughter, which made Jess smile back, and Jane smiled at her mother and daughter too. She wanted them to get to know each other properly, and for her mother to know how wonderful and special Jess was. 'And what are your plans for today Jane?' She asked as she tried to convey a tone of love and warmth that Jane was more familiar with, but there was still that hint of hurt and betrayal.

'Oh I don't know what we'll do, but I'm sure we'll find something,' Jane replied as she glanced at Lovejoy.

After breakfast everyone went off on their own activities. The three girls went off on their bikes, Myles took Johnny fishing as promised, Prue decided to have a lie down for a few hours as she could feel a migraine coming on, and Jane and Lovejoy decided to go for a walk.

Jess and Elle sat in the den, where Elle showed Jess some pictures of her mum and aunt as babies and young children. They talked in great detail about Jess' ambitions to be an artist and now an interior designer. Elle wanted to know more about Jess' childhood and about where she had grown up, and Jess wanted to learn about her other family.

'You know, I only live forty miles away from Felsham, you'd be welcome there any time you want to visit me, and I can show you more of the family history if you wanted to see it,' Elle said as Jess put more coal onto the open fire.

'I'd love to visit sometime,' Jess replied with a grin.

'You look remarkably like your mother Jess; I think saw the resemblance as soon as I met you.'

'Thank you. Sometimes I see it, other times I'm not so sure, but Lovejoy has said that he notices little similarities too,' she said.

Down by the loch side, Jane and Lovejoy were happily strolling along the banks, half holdings hands and half with her arm linked through his. They hadn't talked about it, they didn't discuss what had happened the previous night, they just, let it all happen naturally. It was as if they were both trying to test the waters, but too afraid to actually acknowledge what was happening.

'It's nice down here isn't it?' Jane said with a contented sigh.

'Janey, you know that I…well that I think the world of you,' he began to say as he stopped walking, just as they were coming to a treed area of pine trees. He took her hand and held it to his chest as he tried to find the words he'd waited years to say. 'There isn't a woman on this earth who makes me feel as irritated, as confused, as annoyed as you do Janey,' he said playfully, which made her giggle.

'I don't think there's a man on earth who makes me feel the way you do either Lovejoy, which most of the time is infuriated,' she joked in return.

As they stood there they felt the light breeze twist around them, which made Jane shiver, so Lovejoy wrapped his leather jacket and his arms around her and kissed her nose, which she wrinkled playfully, before he then kissed her properly again. It was long, slow and tender and as he slowly pulled away from her she looked at him with a smile.

Lovejoy, I…'

'Jane, what are you doing out here?' Johnny Brinton-Taylor asked as he and Myles walked through the trees towards them, carrying their fishing rods and tackle boxes, and completely ruining Lovejoy and Jane's romantic moment, yet again.

'Oh we just decided to take a little stroll,' she said as Lovejoy pulled slightly away from her, but kept an arm around her waist. 'Have you had any luck catching anything yet?'

'Not a damn thing I'm afraid, so we thought we'd try further up the loch after lunch,' Myles explained.

'Are you coming back to the house for some lunch as well?' Johnny asked. He wasn't a particularly tall man, but he was always very neat and tidy, with dark grey hair.

'Ah well we thought…'

'Oh come on Jane, there isn't much of a walk through there I'm afraid, it's all rather overgrown and the midges are out in force, blasted things,' Johnny said as he guided Jane away from Lovejoy and back towards the house.

Lovejoy flared his nostrils with anger at being interrupted once again and also because Johnny Brinton-Taylor was trying muscle in on his chances with Jane. He couldn't have that happen to him, he couldn't lose the woman he loved, especially not to someone like Johnny Brinton-Taylor.

All through lunch Johnny talked to Jane, mostly about inane rubbish that Jane knew nothing about. A lot of it was business talk that was more Alexander's area of expertise than hers, and she knew that it was just an excuse for him to talk to her.

'And where is that husband of yours these days?' He asked her.

'Well he's moved to Hong Kong Johnny; Alexander and I are actually no longer together,' Jane explained a little uncomfortably, since this piece of news seemed to encourage him more.

Outside, the heavens opened and a month's worth of rain fell in an afternoon, putting paid to any plans anyone had for going out. It was definitely an afternoon for the open fire and board games. The four girls were happily playing Cluedo in one corner of "the den", while Elle sat and read her book. Prue, Myles, and Lovejoy were sat in one corner talking, whilst Johnny had managed to separate Jane from everyone else, and was sat with her in the other corner gently chatting. As Lovejoy watched them he could feel his blood boiling, although if he paid any real attention, he would see that Jane wasn't quite as comfortable as he thought she was. She wanted to be with Lovejoy as much as he wanted to be with her, but she didn't want to be rude to Johnny.

After a while Lovejoy excused himself and made his way downstairs to the kitchens, where he found a nice bottle of whisky calling his name. He grabbed a mug from the sideboard, the only thing available within immediate sight, and poured some of the amber liquid inside. Just as he was taking a mouthful, the door opened a little more and Jess walked in.

'I wondered where you'd disappeared to,' she said as he grabbed another mug and poured her some too.

'What does she see in him?!' He said moodily as he handed her the mug and they clinked them together.

'She doesn't see anything in him Lovejoy.'

'Really? Because she's spent enough time with him.'

'Lovejoy, stop being so bitter and open your eyes. She wants to be with you, but, if you haven't learnt by now, she isn't confident enough to be assertive and tell him she's not interested,' Jess said.

'Not assertive? I've seen Janey be assertive with me plenty of times…'

'Yes but that's different, she's in love with you, but she isn't interested in Johnno, not in that way,' she replied.

'Women! I will never understand you,' he said in frustration, making Jess giggle.

'Come on, let's go back before they miss us,' she said as they drained the last of their drinks.

On returning to her cousins Jess had formulated a plan that she would need their assistance with. The problems stopping Lovejoy and Jane from being together was getting sufficient enough time to spend quality time together, so they would make it happen. When she told the other three girls what she had in mind, they were all on board with it and they instantly went about sorting it out.

They also enlisted the help of Dawn, the young woman who came to cook for them in the evenings, and she was quite happy to assist them with their endeavour. She showed them where the ice buckets were, stands, cutlery, bottles of champagne, the works, were kept and they discreetly carried them to Rebecca's room. They also found a small table, just big enough for two and took two of the landing chairs. They all then quickly changed for dinner and waited for Jane and Lovejoy to get ready too.

Jess waited in the hallway at the entrance to the staircase, waiting for Lovejoy and Jane to come out. She crouched down onto the floor and began to search for something.

'Jess darling what are you doing?' Jane asked as she came out of her room.

'I've lost one of my earrings, I'm pretty certain it fell here somewhere earlier. Can you help me find it?' She asked, just as Lovejoy came out of his room. She encouraged them both to look and whilst their attentions were diverted, the other girls quickly took the table, chairs and food into Jane's room, before quickly disappearing into their own room, with Charlotte giving Jess the thumbs up as they left.

'Oh maybe I dropped them in your room Janey, I was in there earlier,' she said as she took hold of Jane's hand and led her towards the door. 'Lovejoy, you too,' she said as she stopped him from heading downstairs, grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door too.

'Jess is everything alright? Only you're behaving…well very odd?' He asked, a little confused by her slightly strange behaviour.

'Yes I'm fine,' she replied, as she opened the bedroom door and led them both inside. All three of them were amazed at what they saw.

The three girls had surpassed themselves in a very short time; they'd managed to lay the table, put candles on the table and around the room and had the food in warmers ready to be served, plus the nice bottle of champagne cooling in the ice bucket.

'But I don't understand! I was literally in here just a moment ago, where did all of this come from?' Jane asked in amazement.

'Well I had help from Sam, Rebecca and Charlie. We just wanted you to spend some time alone together, with no interruptions or anything,' she explained as she led them to their chairs, pulled them out for them and made them sit down.

'Very silver service Jess,' Lovejoy joked as she playfully unfolded the napkins and placed them on their laps.

'Ah well, you see I used to work for a frightfully posh hotel, with silver service, I learnt it all from them…' she said with a very posh voice, making her sound uncannily like Jane, '…needless to say, ah din't stay there too long, d'ya know what I mean?' she added, with a very London, east end accent, which made Jane giggle.

'Ah well Jess, is it any wonder when you poured the champagne before giving the gentleman a taste first,' Lovejoy joked as Jess grabbed the bottle, popped the cork and began pouring.

'Ah yes Sir, but I already know that this little beauty is a firm favourite of both of you,' she said as she showed them the label.

'Moet,' Jane said with a teary smile, 'I'm surprised you remembered Jess,' she added.

'Of course I remembered, it's how you two met,' she replied with a melancholy look and lump in her throat. 'Now, I'm off for my dinner too. You two enjoy,' she said as she kissed Jane on the cheek and left them to it.

'She's amazing,' Jane said with disbelief as she looked at everything her daughter had organized.

'She is, she's just like her mother,' Lovejoy said as he reached across the table and gently took her hand, making Jane exhale nervously. 'You look beautiful tonight Janey,' he complimented as he admired her red dress, with its tight fit which accentuated her curves, and the black and gold band at the top hung off her shoulders. She wore a small pendant with an iridescent opal in the centre which Lovejoy had bought her for her birthday, shortly after they'd met actually.

'You scrub up not too badly yourself Lovejoy,' she said with a smile, admiring his choice of a suit jacket over his white t-shirt and jeans.

'Shall we see what your lovely daughter has organised for us to eat? I don't know about you Janey, but I'm starving,' he said as he got up and went towards the serving dishes. She closely followed behind him and saw a pot full of Cullen skink, plates of lamb, homemade gravy and vegetables, and for pudding, a delectable white chocolate and raspberry tart.

'Well, there's enough here to feed an army,' Jane joked as she poured some of the soup into a bowl for them both.

'I don't fancy having dinner with an army Janey, just you,' he flattered and she blushed a little.

They sat in comfortable conversation during the first course, with both wanting to appreciate every second they had like this together, and whilst Jane dished out the second course, Lovejoy poured more of the champagne into their glasses.

'Anyone would think you were trying to get me drunk Lovejoy,' Jane joked as she placed his plate in front of him.

'Maybe I am,' he wiggled his eyebrows at her, 'so that I can have my wicked way with you.'

'You're always wanting to have your wicked way with me Lovejoy,' she giggled, and there was a pause between them for a moment, in which Lovejoy became a little more serious.

'Janey, I hope you realise that, what I feel for you is more than just me wanting to have my "wicked way with you". I was trying to tell you earlier, before we were interrupted, but you are the only woman I have ever truly been in love with,' he said and she glanced away from him for a few moments, which felt like a lifetime to Lovejoy. Was she rejecting him? Was she trying to find a way to refuse him?

'Lovejoy, you mean more to me than I care to admit, it's very disconcerting,' she said with a smile. 'The truth is, I love you too, but I don't want to rush us because I'm frightened that we will make a disaster of it.'

They ate their main meal in comfortable silence, both contemplating what to say next and where they wanted their friendship to go next. By the time their meal was completed, they were both tired and full, but blissfully happy.

'Come sit over here with me for a while,' he said as he took her hand and led her over to the two seater sofa that was in the corner of the room. It was very small, but just the right size for them.

He sat her down and she nestled into his side. He placed one arm around her shoulders and she rested her hand on his knee. He kissed her head and they felt very relaxed and very comfortable in each other's company. Jane kicked her shoes off and rested her feet on the sofa beside her.

'You know something Lovejoy, Alexander never once sat with me like this, he never treated me the same way that you do,' she said as she nestled in a little bit closer.

'Well that's because he never loved you the way that I do, and I do Janey, I really do love you.'

'Are you sure Lovejoy? Because I don't want to be just another woman you take to bed, only for you to get bored after a few months and take off,' she explained.

'I would never do that to you Janey, never,' he replied as he lifted her chin to his and he kissed her sweet and tenderly. 'I've waited a long time to be with you Jane, I never thought I would get the opportunity to be with you, but I would never do anything that you were uncomfortable with; I'm happy to take it at your pace, just as long as you say you'll be mine, and that I haven't lost you to Brendan Chisholm or Johnno downstairs.'

'No Lovejoy, you haven't lost me, but I need for you to understand that, Jess will always come first in my life, and I will not change who I am for anyone.'

'Jane, I always want you to be the Janey that I fell in love with, I don't want or expect you to change, nor do I expect to come first in your life,' he whispered as he kissed her again, he was enjoying having her in his arms.

'Also, I wasn't brought up to live in sin Lovejoy.'

'Oh now Janey, what's this? Is it an indecent proposal? Are you going to make an honest man of me at last?' He joked, which made Jane laugh.

'Maybe one day,' she replied with a smile and a stifled yawn.

He glanced up at the clock on the mantelpiece and realised that it was after eleven o'clock. As much as he wanted to be with Jane, he knew not to push his luck, and he didn't want to rush Jane. He wanted her to know that he was serious about taking things slowly with her.

'Shall I let you get some sleep?' He asked her, feeling sleepy himself.

'I suppose I should get some sleep, otherwise I'll look horrendous in the morning, then you most certainly won't be interested,' she said with a smile as he got up, dislodging her from her comfortable position.

'Oh I don't know Janey,' he said as he made his way towards the door, 'I'm rather looking forward to seeing what you look like in the morning.'

She smiled shyly, feeling like a teenage girl again, as if he'd simply just walked her to her front door, and she looked at him with expectations.

'Goodnight,' he said as he then took a step forward and kissed her again, only this time their kiss was deeper and far more meaningful. The sexual tension that had been between them all night increased. Neither of them really wanted to say goodnight. He placed his hand on her waist as he kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

'Lovejoy, do you want to find out what I look like in the morning?' She asked him breathlessly, just as he went to kiss her again, and they edged closer to the bed.

'Janey, is this a good idea?' He asked her a little uncertainly as they fell onto the cream covers.

'Oh no,' she replied playfully.

'Oh good,' he replied as they then kissed again, into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Jane began to stir the next morning as the sun shone through the window, casting an early morning glow onto her bed. As the foggy mist of sleep lifted from her eyes and she began to feel more aware of her surroundings, she started to notice a weight across her waist, and then felt the rhythmic breath of Lovejoy on her neck.

She smiled as she remembered the events of the previous night, and as he felt her stir beside him, Lovejoy too began to wake. She shuffled a little to make herself more comfortable, and Lovejoy edged himself a little closer. He placed a gentle and tender kiss along her bare shoulder and up her neck, which he nuzzled and then kissed her cheek, making her move closer to him.

'Good morning,' he whispered with a sigh.

'Good morning,' she whispered back happily.

'Are you alright?' He asked gently, running his finger up and down her arm.

'Wonderful,' she said as she closed her eyes at his tender touch. 'Question is, do you approve of what I look like in the morning?' She asked with a cheeky tone, which was matched by him, as he quickly lifted the quilt and ducked his head under.

'I definitely approve Janey,' he said.

'Lovejoy!' She playfully scolded. 'Lovejoy you've let all the cold air in now.'

'Oh not a problem,' he replied, as he then began to tickle her. 'I'm sure we can do something to warm it up again,' he added with a laugh, which made her laugh loudly too.

Down at breakfast Jess noticed their absence and smiled. She knew that they belonged together, and she just hoped that their romantic meal had given them the chance to spend time with each other to discuss their future, and for them to say to each other all of the things that they wanted to say and to spend that much needed time together.

'Do you suppose last night worked?' Rebecca asked quietly as she leaned over and nodded at the two empty chairs.

'I bloody well hope so. Lovejoy loves Mum more than anyone else, they could be so happy together if she will let them,' Jess replied in a whisper.

'I don't know where Jane is this morning, it's not like her to sleep this late. Prue dear, perhaps you should go and wake her,' Elle announced, putting paid to Jess' conversation.

'Oh she's not there,' Jess said quickly as she buttered some more toast, 'no she and Lovejoy went out for a walk.'

'Really? It's a bit early for a walk isn't it?' Prue replied a little perplexed, but all three of her daughters gave her a look that told her not to say any more, which confused her a little at first, but she got the message, and didn't comment further.

At ten o'clock they still weren't down, so all the breakfast dishes were cleared away and everyone went to get dressed. Jess, however, went into the den to wait for Jane to come down. It didn't take too much longer, and as Jane walked in through the door, Jess pressed play on her CD player, playing Etta James' At Last. She smiled playfully at her mum, who gave her a quirky smile and placed one hand on her hip.

'Alright clever dick, how long have you been hovering over that button?' She asked as she sat on the arm of the sofa.

'About fifteen minutes,' Jess giggled. 'Well?' She asked with a raised eyebrow, just as Lovejoy entered. He walked up behind Jane, placed his arms around her waist, kissed her cheek and then placed his chin on her shoulder. She closed her eyes gently at his touch and then rested her head against his. It was just the answer Jess needed, and she smiled with glee as she watched them together.

'Are you really alright with this Jess?' Jane asked a little uncertainly.

'Don't be bloody daft Mum, of course I'm delighted for you both. From the first moment I saw you together, even long before you knew who I was, I knew that you two belonged together,' she said as she hugged them both. 'But, I will say this. If you hurt my mum in any way Lovejoy, I will kick box your arse all the way to Timbuktu.'

'And I have no doubt that you would Jess,' he replied as he placed another kiss to Jane's cheek. 'But I can promise you both this; now that I have you Janey, I have no intentions of doing anything to lose you.'

'Aw, I love you guys,' Jess said with a beaming smile as she tightly hugged them again. 'I really feel like we're a proper family now,' she added.

'I'm glad Jess, but just so you know, whatever happens between Lovejoy and me, well it changes nothing between us; you are always going to come first in my life,' Jane said nervously.

'I know Mum, but I want you to focus on your relationship too.'

'Janey is that you?' Prue called out from the hallway, making Lovejoy move away from Jane and Jess, just as Prue came into the room. 'Ah there you both are; did you enjoy your walk?' She asked.

'Our walk?' Jane asked with a puzzled look, and quickly saw Jess nodding subtly. 'Oh yes, it was lovely to get out into the morning air,' she said.

'Well you missed breakfast I'm afraid, but I saved you some kedgeree in the warmers in the kitchen,' Prue explained. 'Myles, Johnny and I are going out for the day, Mummy is happy to stay here and read her books and I think you girls are off out on your bikes, is that right Jess?'

'Yeah we are; I don't think I've ever ridden a bike so much in all my life! I'll be needing a holiday just to get over this one at this rate,' Jess joked.

'Oh well, enjoy,' Prue said with a smile as she then left them all to it.

'I didn't think you'd want everyone to know what happened last night, so I told them you went for a walk; I hope that was alright?' Jess said a little uncertainly.

'That was quick thinking, and probably a good idea,' Lovejoy said as he glanced at Jane.

'Yes, we've talked about it and we think it may be best if we keep this to ourselves for now,' Jane explained.

'After everything else your family have been through this week, we didn't think it wise to add another surprise,' Lovejoy added.

'Yeah, I guess you're right; but I'm happy for you,' Jess replied.

'And for now darling that will do,' Jane said with a smile.

After a short while Jane and Lovejoy went in search of breakfast, whilst Jess and her cousins went out on their bikes as promised. In the afternoon, Prue and Myles wanted to spend time with their niece, away from everyone else, so they took her out to lunch. Naturally, Prue had some concerns about Jess' welfare and the toll that the last few months was taking on her, and despite her anger at her sister, she still had concerns about Jane too.

'I want you to know Jess that I don't condone or approve of my sister's actions, but I really do believe that she loves and cares about you,' she said.

'I know she loves me, and believe it or not, I really do love her too. I won't lie, her's and Alexander's actions really hurt me and it took me a long time to forgive her for them, but she's been as hurt by this as much as I have, so it makes it a lot harder to hold onto that anger when you think of it like that.'

'I just still can't believe any of it,' Prue said with utter disbelief.

'Trust me, neither can I sometimes, especially when I wake up in my bedroom at Felsham Hall and I can't believe I'm there. But then I think about what Jane has gone through, how horrible it must have been to give up her only child and to fear she'd never see me again and it breaks my heart. I can tell she would have been a brilliant mum, I mean she is a brilliant mum, but she was robbed of the chance to always be one. Lovejoy has been amazing too though, we would never have gotten through this without him,' she explained as she sipped her coffee.

'You and Jane do seem to be quite taken by him.'

'Well, it's like I said, he's the father I never really had. Don't get me wrong, my granddad has always been there for me and we are really close, but, I dunno…'

'It's alright Jess, I understand,' Prue said empathetically with a smile.

'It's strange to think I have a family now, I've only ever had my mum and granddad before,' she added.

'I hope it's not all too much for you,' Prue questioned, afraid that they may all be pushing Jess into directions that she didn't want to go in.

'No, it's not too much for me at all, it's just going to take a bit of getting used to, but I'm so happy to have a family, and I'm glad you all know now; Janey was really worried about telling you or you accidently finding out before she was ready. I really hope that it won't affect your relationship with her though. After everything she's been through, she doesn't deserve to lose her family.'

'I can assure you that none of us are going to turn against her or cut her off. Jane and I used to be really very close before we were both married, and then we sort of drifted apart a little, I understand it better now, when you realise what she must have been going through for all of those years, I just wish she'd told me sooner.'

'I wish she'd told you all sooner as well, then we probably wouldn't have been where we are today, but it is what it is, and we've just got to get on with it I guess and create a new life together.'

Jess enjoyed the time with her new aunt and uncle, even if she had felt strange and apprehensive throughout most of the day, but by the time their week together was up, she really started to feel like she belonged with them all. On the morning of their departure there was an air of sadness that their time together was at an end, but the four girls felt excited about starting their new lives together.

'We're not that far away Jess, so you need to come and visit us soon,' Rebecca said as she hugged her cousin tightly.

'Thanks, I definitely will,' Jess replied nervously.

Whilst her daughter was saying goodbye to her nieces, Jane was saying goodbye to her sister and mother. They all felt an odd feeling of resolution. The pain that had been between them at the start of the week was no longer so raw, although it still felt very real, and there was still some bonding to be done between them; however, Jane felt more at peace, with herself and with her family. The secret she had burdened herself with for all those years was no longer there, she no longer felt as if she was lying to them, or pretending to be happy when really she was hurting more than they knew.

'I'll call you when we get home,' Prue said as she hugged Jane tightly, 'and if you need anything, just call me alright,' she added emotionally.

'I will do, I promise; but I think we'll be alright now.'

'Yes I think you will be; she's a wonderful young woman Janey.'

They stood and watched the four girls together as they laughed at something Samantha had just said, and Jane could feel a lump forming in her throat and her eyes prickling, a feeling that was broken by Lovejoy as he huffed the final bag into the car. He said goodbye to Myles, shaking his hand and then walked towards Prue and Elle. He placed a kiss to both their cheeks and then turned to Jane.

'Are you ready then?' He asked.

'Yes, I'll join you in a moment,' Jane replied as Lovejoy then disappeared back to the car, joined in the front by Jess.

'Mother, I hope everything will be alright now. I know you're still rather angry and upset about…well, about Jess…'

'I'm not angry or upset,' Elle replied, just as Prue walked away to give her mother and sister some space. 'well not anymore at any rate. You suffered a great injustice at the hands of the man you loved, and experienced something no mother should ever have to go through, but I do believe that you thought you were doing what was best for your daughter. The situation is what it is and there's nothing you nor I can do to change it; all we can do now is ensure that you both have the life together you deserve.'

Elle's final speech of true forgiveness and acceptance really affected Jane in a positive light. As they all drove home, the words reverberated around her mind all the way until they got back to Felsham Hall, as she felt the final ounce of guilt she felt subside. She realised that Prue and her mother were right, there was nothing that any of them could do to change the past, they could only work on their future and make sure that it was a good one for Jess.

'Are you alright Mum? Only you've been very quiet since we left Scotland?' Jess asked as she sleepily climbed from the range rover onto the darkened gravel driveway.

'Are you happy Jess? I mean truly happy,' Jane asked a little unexpectedly by Jess, who grew concerned by Jane's question.

'Yes of course I am Mum. Have I done something to make you think otherwise?!'

'No darling you haven't; I just need to be sure that I'm doing right by you. It was something my mother said before we left, about us not being able to change the past, but to do everything we can now to ensure our future together is good.'

'Oh Mum…I love everything you do for me. I know you're still hurting, and after everything you were put through is it any wonder. But I really am happy. I'm thankful for every second that we spend together and I appreciate everything you do for me, however, there's just one more thing that you could do that would make me happier…'

'And what's that?'

'You could relax and stop worrying so much. We're together now, I'm not going anywhere and the three of us are going to be a great family, but I want you to enjoy every second of it too, without worry or fear. No one is going to take this away from us, not now and not ever,' Jess said as she hugged Jane tightly, just as Lovejoy returned from the hallway to see what was keeping them. He could just make out their silhouettes as they embraced lovingly, and he took a moment to count himself lucky for having them in his life.

'Come on you two, you better get inside before we all catch our deaths,' he said, making them turn with sheepish smiles and walk inside.


	5. Chapter 5

Toby and Ellie were delighted to see their owner's return, and Jess was delighted to be back with them. She wasted no time in going out for a walk with Toby, Monty and Ruthie in the early morning, her camera in hand of course, taking pictures of the mist, golden leaves and the dewy cobwebs in the late autumn sun. After a packed week with lots of people, she was enjoying her solitude, and she wanted to give Lovejoy and her mother as much time alone together as possible.

Although they had already spent a passionate night together, Jane wasn't keen to repeat it and rush their relationship, and much to her surprise, and his, Lovejoy understood; so he had slept on the sofa, just as he always had done, but the greeting he received when he woke was the most pleasant he'd ever received.

Jane had woken before him, although she'd expected him to be awake long before her. She wrapped her silk gown around her slender shoulders and then walked barefooted down into the living room, where he was laid fast asleep. She smiled as she watched him and then turned towards the kitchen. Again she expected to see Jess up and about, but instead she found the kitchen to be completely empty, with only a note taped to the kettle.

'Morning Mum, I was up ridiculously early, but it was such a nice morning I decided to take me and the dogs for a walk, along with my camera. I'll be back before breakfast…or at least before lunch time…actually scratch that, I'll be back sometime before dark! J,' Jane read aloud with a smile at her daughter's words, which made her laugh. Jess was always leaving silly notes like that around for her to find, so she stuck the kettle on and pottered around grabbing mugs and plates, popped some bread into the toaster and then cracked a couple of eggs into a pan. By the time she was finished she fully expected Lovejoy to have woken up, but it seemed the journey from Scotland had really tired him out. She crept into the living room, and placed the tray of food and drinks onto the coffee table and knelt down beside his sleeping form. Her hand carefully found his as it rested against his bare chest, and her lips met his in a kind embrace, until his eyes began to flutter open.

'I could get used to that,' he mumbled sleepily, a small smile playing on his lips.

'I brought you some breakfast,' she whispered back as he sat up, making room for her beside him.

'What time is it?'

'Nearly half ten.'

'And Jess isn't down yet? Now that does surprise me,' Lovejoy said as he tucked into some toast.

'Oh she left hours ago, with the dogs and her camera; I shouldn't think she'll be back before lunch time.'

'Well that's our girl Janey, up with the larks. I hope she didn't find Scotland all too much though,' he replied, more to himself than Jane.

'I think she's found it a little difficult to comprehend sometimes, but to be honest…I think she's struggling more with the idea of having all these family members and people in her life. I've talked about it before with her, actually, I think that's probably why she's gone out this morning; she was so used to it just being her and her mother, she used to have a lot of time to herself, of solitude I suppose.'

'Hmm, it's a shame she never had any brothers or sisters to help and be with her,' Lovejoy suddenly realised that he'd said his thought aloud again and felt selfish and foolish for not being more sensitive. 'I'm sorry Janey…'

'Don't be Lovejoy,' Jane replied softly with a sad smile, 'I've often thought the same thing to be honest. When I gave her up, I just assumed that she would go to a family either with children already or would have further children in their future; I knew if she'd stayed here that she would have been an only child, even if I had managed to persuade him to love and cherish Jess, Alexander would never have agreed to us having any more, but I never imagined that she would be left so alone in the world anyway.'

'Well she's not alone now is she Janey; she has you, and me, Tinker, Eric, although he's not necessarily a comfort, and all of your family now as well.'

'You're right of course, and I am so glad that she took to them and them to her so well. The funny thing is, she's so happy in her own skin, to be the quirky individual that she really is, and yet, at the same time, she has expressed once or twice that she worries she's letting me down by not being "posh" enough, which is a laugh really. When I was her age I worried about the same thing, about not being posh enough for Alexander I mean.'

'You know what Janey, Jess is, to coin your expression, the quirky individual that she is because of you. Since she's come back I've seen such a change in you, you're so much more the Janey I first fell in love with, artistic and down to earth, and then some.'

'Well, I did tell you that you were more likely to see me trucking about in an old scruffy pair of wellies than that dress,' Jane replied with a broad smile as she then bit her bottom lip. They both giggled and then began to tuck into the rest of their breakfast before it went cold completely, wondering what mischief Jess could possibly be getting into.

In reality Jess was having a very calm and relaxing morning. There was nothing quite like getting out into the fresh air to clear her mind. Jane had got it right when she'd said Jess needed some time on her own. It wasn't that anything was wrong, but she just liked the opportunity to get away from life for just a short while to be truly free.

'Will you three get out of there,' she said as she watched the three dogs running in and out of a really muddy area of the forest she was in. She'd headed down to the bottom of the garden, then into the woods, but had now walked further than she'd ever explored before. She could still hear some traffic to her left, so she knew that she was still near the main road, and yet, she still felt as if she was in the middle of nowhere, a whole world away from where she was.

As her belly gave an angry grumble she looked at her watch, it was now nearly one o'clock, so no wonder she was hungry and feeling a bit cold. She'd managed to use nearly four rolls of film and had taken some amazing shots, quite a few were of the dogs. Since they were all caked in mud she decided to walk them through the back of Felsham Hall, at least that way she might be able to avoid the wrath of Mrs Cameron, who still had her reservations about Jess, even after Jane had informed the housekeeper of the young woman's true identity; Jane had put it down to Mrs Cameron not wanting to admit Alex could do what he did.

Ruthie, Monty and Toby seemed to have an endless amount of energy as they finally walked into the courtyard of the stables. The horses were in their paddock and Jess wasn't expecting to see anyone, so she got the fright of her life as she approached the back of the house and saw a middle-aged, balding man skulking round the grounds.

'Can I help you?' She shouted firmly, which startled the man as he turned to face her.

'Oh, well…I was…I…I was looking for Lord Felsham; I rang the bell but there was no answer, so I….'

'Decided to trespass onto private land instead?' Jess said with a raised brow. 'Well Lord Felsham isn't at home, he's in Hong Kong on business, but Lady Felsham should be here; I can get her for you if you like. What's your name?' She demanded quite formally and sounded to be quite intimidating.

'Oh, no, that's quite alright Miss. Do you work here?'

'No I don't work here…well…not exactly; I'm Lady Felsham's business partner, but I'm not a member of staff in the house,' she explained, feeling a little flustered. 'Shall I take a message to give to Lord Felsham for you?' She added, desperate to get inside and to get rid of this odd little man.

'Well, here is my business card Miss…?'

'Carter,'

'Miss Carter, I'm Gordon Rush, a business associate of Lord Felsham, so if you could just pass on the message that I paid him a visit, I'd be grateful.'

Jess didn't move from her spot by the back door as she watched Mr Rush making a hasty exit. All of her instincts were telling her that something wasn't quite right about the situation, but his business card clearly stated the name of the bank Alexander worked for, although she wasn't too familiar with the name of the branch. However, she tried to push it from her mind as she opened the backdoor and tried to stop the dogs from running into the kitchen.

'Jess is that you?' Jane called from the living room.

'No it's the bogeyman!' Jess replied with a smirk, although after what she'd just experienced, perhaps she shouldn't have been making jokes like that. 'Course it's me Janey,' she added with a smile as Jane walked into the kitchen, now fully showered and dressed.

'Did you have a good walk?'

'Yeah ta, I got loads of great pictures and I think the dogs are bloody knackered now after all that. They got really muddy though, I'll have to take them for a bath in a bit. Where's Lovejoy?'

'He's right here,' he said as he also walked into the kitchen.

'Morning Lovejoy, well, afternoon now I suppose,' she said with a gleeful smile.

'Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight my darling,' he replied mischievously as he gave a peck on the forehead, making her giggle.

'What've you two been up to?' She asked, a little suggestively.

'Wouldn't you like to know,' Lovejoy replied with a wiggle of his brow, which made Jess giggle more, but Jane shuffled a little uncomfortably as she whacked him on the arm.

'Lovejoy,' she said with a warning look, 'I've been unpacking and sorting out all of the messages Mrs Cameron had for me.'

'Anything important?'

'Nothing too important, although we may have a new client; she wants to meet with me to make an appraisal of her house and price a few things up for her,' Jane said as she made them all some tea.

'Aw that's great!'

'Well I'm glad you think that darling, because I've decided to let you handle this one on your own,' Jane announced proudly.

'What?!' Jess spluttered. 'Are you sure Mum? I mean, I'm not sure that thi….'

'Well I am. You've proved yourself in the last few months, you have more skills than you think you do, and I think it's time you started venturing out on your own a little.'

Jess wasn't sure what to say, she was amazed that Jane would have so much trust and faith in her, even when she didn't even have that much trust in herself, but she really wanted to make Jane proud.

'Well will you at least help me prepare for the consultation beforehand?'

'Of course I will darling, but you won't need it, you'll be fine' Jane replied as Jess went to hug her.

'I swear I won't let you down Mum,' Jess said as she hugged her tightly. 'I'll make you really proud, I promise.'

'Oh sweetheart; you already do make me proud, but I know that you're going to do really well. Actually, speaking of doing really well, Lovejoy has some news for you.'

'Ooooh what news Lovejoy?' Jess asked with a smile.

'Your table, I've had an offer for it already; a former client of mine who collects furniture of that era, he's put in an offer of fifty-five thousand pounds. I've to let him know your answer by the end of the day,' he replied proudly, he was delighted to be of help to Jess during her first sale.

'Wow! That is insane!' Jess exclaimed as she sunk into the chair behind her. 'Well if I sell it to him, will it be going to a good home?'

'A very good home Jess; he really does love his purchases, so it'll be lovingly restored to its full glory and used with great care.'

'Well then, I guess you'd better phone him and tell him he's got a sale,' she smiled with delight. 'That's not a bad start to the day is it? I go out for a walk, then come home and make my first sale and my first commission.'

'Well I've told you before Jess, you're a natural,' Lovejoy replied as he drained the last of his tea. 'Right, I'll get down to Mr Zuchheimmer now, give him the good news. What are you girls going to do whilst I'm out?'

'I'm gonna develop all my photographs; I still have all the ones from Scotland and the ones from before we left, so I've got lots of work to do,' Jess said.

'I'm going to finish our unpacking and then respond to the rest of those messages that have been left for me,' Jane said, with a look that didn't entirely fill her with delight at the thought.

'Don't worry Mum, I can come down and help you later if you want.'

Lovejoy then grabbed his leather jacket and put his boots on, said goodbye to Jess with a warm and loving hug, and was followed out to Miriam by Jane, who was slightly hesitant in saying goodbye.

'Would you like me to stop by later, or do you just want some time to yourself for a while?' He asked her.

'Actually, I would just like some time between me a Jess if that'd be alright?' She replied, uncertain as to how he would take her request, but he understood and had no problem in accepting it.

'Of course it is Janey; you haven't had much of a chance to spend time with just the two of you in the last week. But how about I take you out to dinner tomorrow night to make up for it?' He offered in return.

'Alright, where shall we go?'

'I'll save it as a surprise,' he replied with a wink, before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in close to him. He placed a soft gentle kiss to her lips, which she reciprocated lovingly, and as they shared their tender moment, neither of them had noticed that they were being watched.

Jess was standing at the living room window watching them together with delight. She really did feel as if she had a little family, just the three of them, and she felt loved by them both. As Lovejoy drove off and Jane turned back towards the house, Jess rushed away and busied herself, pretending not to have seen anything, not wanting to embarrass her mother.

'You don't mind of I go upstairs and work on my photographs do you? I can stay and help you if you'd rather,' she said as Jane came into the living room.

'No not at all; but only if I get to see them as soon as you've finished.'

'I think that's a condition I can manage,' Jess replied as she trotted past Jane, placing a brief kiss to her cheek as she did.

Jess loved being in her darkroom, she could happily spend days in there, developing photographs, and watching her hard work appear as if by magic upon the white paper. She felt completely relaxed and at peace in that little room, and remembered all of her mum's hard work that had gone into building it, well, her's and Lovejoy's. She grinned happily and with tears brimming as she watched the images of Jane and Lovejoy dancing in the church appearing. She had captured them beautifully, with the natural light from the stained glass windows falling on them, cascading a warm glow that seemed to reflect the intensity of love burning in the eyes of the two subjects. She felt so moved by these pictures, but her afternoon of relaxation soon took a disturbing twist, one that concerned her greatly, whilst she was developing the photographs she had taken on her birthday.

As the image of Lovejoy and Jane facing each other and holding hands emerged in the clear liquid beneath Jess' tongs, Jess began to notice another figure looming in the background. At first, it just appeared to be a smudge, an irritating mark on the lens perhaps, but in the next picture the dark mark was much clearer. It was a person, a squat little man that Jess recognised immediately.

After having such a lovely lunch with Lovejoy and Jane earlier on in the day, she had completely forgotten about her strange encounter with that equally strange little man outside the house, but now she saw him again, hovering in the background of her pictures from over a week earlier. Switching on the light, she could make the pictures out more clearly, and discovered that he had also been in the little restaurant where they had eaten. She had no idea how she could have missed him at the time, but he was clearly watching the three of them together.

'Janey?!' She called out down the hall way, where Jane was putting some clothes away in her bedroom.

'Have you finished developing your pictures?' She asked as she responded to Jess' call, and walked down the hall towards Jess' studio.

'I have, but there's something I think that you need to see.'

Jess' tone of concern made Jane's brow crease with worry as she followed her daughter inside. She was greeted by a neat line of rectangular paper hanging up to dry and she could instantly see that Jess had captured some stunning pictures, including a few of her and Lovejoy.

'I don't quite know how to explain this Mum, mainly because I don't know what it means myself…but…well…when I was developing these photographs from my birthday…' she stammered as she tried to get her head around the situation, '…well…there's a man in most of them, watching you and Lovejoy together.' She handed Jane the pictures she was referring to, and allowed Jane a few seconds to look at them. 'He looks as if he's spying on us.'

'Could it just be a coincidence Jess?' Jane asked nervously.

'Well I might have agreed with that argument if it hadn't been for something that happened this afternoon. I'd completely forgotten about it after I'd come in, but there was a man prowling around outside. He said that he was something to do with Alexander's work and that he'd come to see him.'

'I never saw anyone.'

'Well he said that he'd rung the bell but no one answered, but he just seemed off and a bit weird. He's the man in the photos,' Jess said as she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort as her arms erupted in nervous goosebumps.

'I think I'd better give Lovejoy a ring,' Jane said as she too felt scared and uncertain, and Lovejoy didn't need to be asked twice when either one of his girls were in trouble. 'Lovejoy, I know I said that I wanted to have some time alone with Jess, but she's discovered something here that you need to see,' she explained on the phone, and was delighted that he'd been at home. 'Can you come as quickly as you can, only, well it's not making either of us feel very safe.'

'I'll be there in a few minutes Janey,' he replied as he replaced the receiver, jumped into Miriam, with a prayer that she'd start first time, and sped down the country roads as quickly as he good to get to his girls. It was starting to turn dark when he arrived minutes later.

As he sat and listened to Jess' explanation of what had happened, and felt dizzy watching her pace up and down in front of him and Jane, he couldn't help but smile a little, because she reminded him so much of Jane, whom he had wrapped in his arms as she pressed tightly against him, worrying with each step Jess took, and with each photograph she looked at.

'So who the hell is he?' He asked with a slight sound of anger and concern as Jess finally finished explaining.

'I don't know, but he isn't who he said he is, or at least the number and address on his card he gave me are phony,' Jess said.

'And I've never heard of him before. I don't claim to know all of Alex's associates, but I'm sure I'd have remembered him at least,' Jane replied with a shiver.

'Well I'll get Eric and Tinker to have a look round, see if they can see anyone and if you girls want me to, I can stay here tonight,' Lovejoy suggested protectively.

'Actually, I think I'd prefer it if you did Lovejoy,' Jess said as she sat down on the footstool.

'Me too,' Jane said as she glanced up at him, before resting her head back onto his shoulder, feeling a little calmer with his arm firmly wrapped around her shoulders.

So that evening he tried to take their mind off their troubles by putting on a film for them all to watch and Jane had made them lots of toast, which they happily munched their way through, as Lovejoy sat in the middle of both his girls, who were nestled into his side for comfort and warmth with a blanket thrown over their laps. Despite their earlier worries, their evening was just perfect, and even though she'd wanted the evening to be spent with just her daughter, Jane was glad that Lovejoy was with them.

'You know guys, I'm so happy you've decided to be together,' Jess said as she took another mouthful of toast, spilling crumbs all over Lovejoy's chest. 'And I'm glad that it means we get to do stuff like this.'

'Well I'm glad too Jess; I just want to do anything I can to make you girls happy, protect you and keep you safe,' he said as he gave Jess a gentle squeeze.

'I am glad that we get to do things like this too Jess; I've never really done it before,' Jane said sleepily.

'If I'm honest, I haven't ever really done anything like this either. I never had a dad and my mum was too ill towards the end to be concerned about watching films. We used to read a lot though,' Jess explained, just as Jane reached over and grabbed another slice as well, spreading more crumbs over Lovejoy.

'Do you girls mind? There's nothing more irritating than crumbs,' he said playfully.

'They're worse when you're eating in bed and you get into it that night to find them still in it,' Jess replied with a smile.

'That's the best bit, you save them for your midnight snack,' Jane said, joining in their playful banter. 'Not that I've ever had that very often; Alexander very rarely brought me breakfast in bed, unless I was ill, which thankfully isn't very often.'

Lovejoy and Jess gave each other a look at Jane's comment, and both had the exact same idea, to which Jane was completely oblivious to, just as the credits on the film began to roll.

'Right then, now that you two have filled my bed for the night with crumbs, perhaps you can let me get some shut eye,' Lovejoy said as he tried to dislodge the two women, and Jess yawned loudly.

'I guess so,' she said sleepily as they all stood up and shook the remaining crumbs onto the floor. 'Goodnight Mum,' she added as she gave Jane a big hug and a kiss good night, and then did the same to Lovejoy.

'Goodnight Jess,' he said as she then disappeared and then he went to say goodnight to Jane. 'Can I have an extra pillow Janey, only your cushions aren't the most comfortable things to rest your head on,' he said as he went about sorting himself some covers to put over the sofa, but turned to face a nervous looking Jane. 'Are you alright Janey?'

'Actually Lovejoy,' she said as he stepped towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. 'well I was trying not to let on to Jess, as I didn't want to worry her, but I'm more unnerved by this business than I'd care to admit. I was wondering…well…I don't much feel like sleeping on my own tonight; would you mind keeping me company,' she said nervously.

'Of course I don't mind Janey, but only if that's what you're comfortable with?'

Without saying anything further they went upstairs and all three of them slept soundly, despite the mystery man who had been stalking them. The next morning Lovejoy intended to find out who he was and how he could protect his girls, but first thing was first.

As a result of their conversation the previous night, both Jess and Lovejoy were up early, whilst Jane still rested in bed. Jess had been up first and had already started on eggs and toast whilst Lovejoy made a cup of tea.

'You know, my mum always made me eggs and toast when I was ill, actually so did Janey when I was sick a couple of months back,' Jess said with a happy smile.

'Mine always made me toast, fresh orange juice and sweet tea,' Lovejoy replied, just as Jess began to place the breakfast items onto the tray. 'Now wait a minute, just before you take that up…' he said as he opened the back door and quickly snipped a rose from the side of the house. 'Can't have breakfast in bed for her Ladyship without something a bit special.'

Jess then carefully carried the breakfast tray up the stairs, closely followed by Lovejoy, who was busy carrying the tray with the tea and mugs on. As they got to Jane's bedroom Jess lightly opened the door and peered inside. It was still dark and Jane was still asleep. As they walked in they placed the two trays on to the bed, whilst Jess turned on the little lamp on Jane's bedside table. Jane began to stir as she tried to sit up, rubbing her eyes and blinking rapidly in surprise.

'What's going on?' She asked hoarsely.

'Well, you said you didn't often get breakfast in bed, so we thought we'd treat you,' Jess said quietly.

'Gosh! I didn't expect this darling!' Jane replied as she came to more clearly.

'Well, we thought you deserved a special treat, show you how much we love you and care,' Lovejoy added.

'Alright you two, what are you after?' Jane asked suspiciously as she grabbed a slice of toast.

'Nothing at all Mum, we honestly just wanted to treat you. See Lovejoy, you do one nice little thing and she goes getting all suspicious of us,' Jess said with a cheeky grin.

'Well that's the English aristocracy for you Jess; they're only so suspicious all the time because they're just as guilty of doing the things they are suspicious of,' Lovejoy replied with an equally mischievous look.

'Oh alright you two, go on, leave me to enjoy my breakfast in peace then,' Jane said with a smile. She loved them both so much, and she loved their quirky relationship and the way they had bonded, it was as if their little family was meant to be together, and her smile broadened with that thought.

'Right, I'm going to head out for a bit,' he announced once they were downstairs.

'Aw, where are you going?' Jess asked, sounding a little put out at not being able to spend time with him.

'To find out who our mystery man is. I'll be back in a little bit,' he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder and booped her nose with the other. 'I'll be back before you know it,' he added as he looked at her pouting face.

'Yeah, alright then. Sure you don't want me to come with you?' She asked him.

'No that's alright Jess; you stay with your mum and keep an eye out for anyone here. Tell her I've taken her range rover as well, it's a little more reliable that Miriam at the moment.'

Jess watched him as he disappeared out through the front doors and into the range rover. He turned the collar up on his leather jacket to try and shield himself from the autumn wind that had crept up, which made Jess giggle, before she turned round and went back upstairs to her mum.

The first thing Lovejoy did was to find Eric, who was sat in the local café having breakfast. He hoped that Eric had asked around and found something out; but since it was Eric, he didn't hold his breath, which was probably a good idea, as he joined him at his table.

'Where's Tinker?' Was the first question he asked.

'Not here,' Eric replied grumpily as he tucked into his slightly over done sausage.

'Well I can see that Eric, but where is he?'

'He won't be up for ages yet. We went round a few of the pubs last night didn't we, to see if anyone knew anything about this bloke, and whilst we were doing that, Tinker decided to have a few; so what started out as a question and answer session, ended up in a pub crawl,' Eric explained.

'Great,' Lovejoy sighed, 'well then, what did you find out?'

'Well I did what you asked. Unlike Tinker, I asked about a bit, I was subtle like but, to the point you know…'

'Eric please, will you just tell me what you found out!'

'Well not a lot if you must know. A couple of people thought they might have seen him about but, no one could be certain.'

Lovejoy felt deflated and fed up. He couldn't understand what was going on, and after meeting Jess yesterday, the guy might not be too keen to return in a hurry; not that that was going to stop him from finding out who this guy was and what he was doing following them around.

He ordered tea and a cooked breakfast as well, buying himself time to come up with a plan of action when Charlie Gimbert walked in, looking most out of place in such a greasy-spoon café, but he still had quite a smug look on his face, as he usually did when addressing Lovejoy.

'I thought I saw you come in here Lovejoy,' he said slyly, smoking a cigar already.

'What do you want Charlie?' Lovejoy replied grumpily. As much as this game of cat and mouse was a fun part of their…well friendship come mutual hatred and loathing of each other, he wasn't in the mood for Gimbert's goading today.

'Well that isn't a nice way to greet an old friend is it Lovejoy,' Gimbert said.

'Old friend is it now?'

'Well, when you've hated someone as long as I've hated you Lovejoy, you develop a sort of friendship, a relationship if you like.' What was Gimbert trying to drive at now? This was a weird conversation to be having, even by Lovejoy's standards.

'Look Charlie, if you haven't come with any real purpose other than to annoy me, I'm not in the mood.'

'Come now Lovejoy, don't be unreasonable; anyone would think you were trying to put an end to our relationship,' Gimbert said as he leaned in a little closer towards Lovejoy, 'then again, from what I hear about you and Lady Jane, you're very good at ending relationships and ruining marriages.' Charlie then turned and began to walk away from the table laughing, until Lovejoy called him back.

'Gimbert, how did you know?' Lovejoy asked, seething with anger. Gimbert couldn't possibly know anything about Janey, it wasn't common knowledge that she and Alexander were no longer together, so how did Gimbert, of all people, know.

'Ah now Lovejoy, my sources must remain…' Lovejoy grabbed Charlie by the scruff of his collar angrily, and glared at the man in front of him, who now looked very taken aback by Lovejoy's behaviour. 'What the bloody hell Lovejoy!'

'Cut the crap Gimbert and tell me who told you about Lady Jane!'

'Alright, alright fine…no need to get so bloody heavy handed!'

'Oh really Gimbert, and here was me thinking it was the nature of our relationship. Now tell me, how did you know about Lady Felsham?' He asked with determination, but with a quieter tone.

'Some bloke came asking questions about you. He wanted to know about Lady Felsham and that girl apprentice of hers, reckoned she is Lady Felsham's daughter or something…'

'And, what did you tell him?'

'Well I didn't tell him anything, what would I know about that…told him about you though; yes, he seemed very interested in you Lovejoy, and the nature of your relationship with Lady Felsham,' Gimbert said smugly, making Lovejoy seethe and clench his jaw.

'Gimbert, if this causes Janey or Jess any pain because of your actions…it will be nothing compared to the pain I put you through,' he said with his finger a millimetre from Gimbert's face, whose smug look had long since evaporated.

Lovejoy let go of Gimbert's clothes and glared after him as he left, not another word was spoken between them and as he turned round, Lovejoy was met with the gobsmacked face of Eric.

'I'll have that tea now Terence,' he said relatively calmly to the young man behind the counter, who was looking as equally as gobsmacked as Eric was. He knew it was a mistake to have lost his temper like that, and he knew that Gimbert would make him pay for it sooner or later, but right now he didn't care about any of that, he just cared about Janey and Jess. They'd worked so hard to build this beautiful relationship together, he wanted nothing to come between them or to potentially ruin that.

Once he had calmed down, he and Eric drove back to the Felsham Hall. Jess and Jane were both dressed and discussing their day ahead, and even though she knew that Lovejoy was against it, Jess really wanted to help him find out who the man was that had been following them. It unnerved her, more than she'd care to admit, so she wanted to be involved in catching him as much as possible.

'So we're no closer to finding out who this man is then?' Jane asked with trepidation, a small shiver quivering through her body at the creepy thought.

'No, but we'll get him Janey, don't you worry,' Lovejoy comforted.

'Oh I know you will Lovejoy, it's more the question of why that bothers me.'

'Actually, that bothers me a lot too. I mean, we've got nothing of any interest to anyone, so why the fu…I mean, why on earth would anyone want to follow us?' Jess said angrily, almost slipping up and letting her anger get the better of her, something Jane noticed and something that made her giggle.

'I don't know, but I intend to find out Jess,' Lovejoy said with a steely look, that clearly said he was not one to be trifled with. 'I need to go back to the house for a bit, get a few things and make some enquiries. I'll be back later on Janey, but I'm only a phone call away if you need me,' he added as he kissed Jane on the cheek.

'I'm going to come too Lovejoy; I want to do some work on that table before it goes to its lovely new owner…I hope they look after it,' Jess said in thought, a quite different tone from what she'd been using only a moment earlier.

'Are you sure you want to leave your mum here on her own Jess?' Lovejoy asked.

'Lovejoy, I'll be perfectly alright; like you said, if anything happens you're only a phone call away. Besides, I've got Mrs Cameron here remember, and if she isn't enough to scare an intruder away nothing will,' Jane joked with a smile, making Jess giggle and Lovejoy give in.

The three of them climbed into Miriam and drove down the quiet country roads until they arrived at Lovejoy's quaint country cottage. All seemed quiet, until they walked from the front of the house towards the workshop, where they saw someone disappearing round the side of the building. They all looked with concern at each other as they approached in silence, until Lovejoy stopped them just shy of the drive.

'Jess I want you to stay here whilst Eric and I check it out,' he said as he stopped her from going any further, but she fixed him with one of Jane's looks.

'Don't be so ridiculous! You stand a much better chance of catching him if the three of us go after him; besides, I don't want to miss out on any of the fun,' she replied with a cheeky little grin.

'Alright fine, but you stay with me, alright?' Lovejoy whispered. 'Eric, you go round the back, we'll search round the front. With any luck we'll flush him out,' he directed, as they then split up and rushed round to find the intruder, only to meet in the middle again with no sign of their tresspasser.

'Where the hell can he be?' Jess asked with a shiver of concern.

'He can't have gone far. Come on let's go again,' Eric said as they began to walk away from each other, only for them all to hear the crunch of gravel behind them, as the man tried to run away. Eric began to run after him, but he was soon overtaken by a sprinting Jess, who was quicker than a whippet from its trap. Lovejoy didn't even attempt to run after them, he knew exactly what was about to come next, since he'd been witness to something very similar only months earlier.

Whilst Eric was doubled over panting for breath, Jess lunged at the guy, forcing him to topple over. He tried to get up and run off again, but Jess gave him a swift kick to the knee, making him fall in pain. She was eventually joined by Lovejoy after she had wrestled their mystery guy to the ground, and Lovejoy then grabbed him and hauled him up.

'Alright, alright, ease up; there's no need to be so heavy handed, I don't mean any harm!' The man yelled with fright, just as Eric joined them.

'I thought I had him, until you came sprinting passed Jess; I didn't even realise it was you until I saw him on the ground,' he panted as he clutched a stitch in his side.

'Get him into the workshop,' Lovejoy said impatiently, handing their, would be, intruder to the hapless assistant, and watched as Eric dragged him away.

'What we going to do with him?' Jess asked nervously, having never seen Lovejoy so angry before, and wondering just how far he'd go to protect her and Jane.

'Do? We're going to sort this out once and for all. He's going to tell me what's going on even if it kills him!'

As they entered the workshop they saw the man sitting in an arm chair with Eric looming over him with a bat, looking about as intimidating as a mouse with a cold. However, Lovejoy was far more convincing. He didn't like the thought of his girls being in danger, and having the man threatening them in front of him, well that was bound to spell trouble.

'Look, I'll do anything you ask, just don't hurt me alright?' The small bloke asked with a quiver.

'Well then cut the crap and tell me who the hell you are!' Lovejoy demanded.

'Gordon alright, my name is Gordon Rush!' Rush replied quickly, in fear of getting a beating.

'Why've you been following us?' Jess said with a much softer tone than the one Lovejoy was using, but still conveyed enough of her anger and concern.

'I can't say,' Rush replied fearfully.

'Can't, or won't?' Eric said.

'Does it matter? Either way you're not finding out!'

'Oooh I would really, really think carefully about that if I were you Mr Rush. See Miss Carter here is a dab hand at martial arts and self-defense, whilst Mr Catchpole is used to hard work and slogging it; a six-foot hole would be nothing to him, would it Eric?'

'Absolutely Lovejoy,' Eric said with menace again as he thumped the bat hard against his hand.

Despite the terrifying display, Jess knew, deep down, that Lovejoy would never really hurt this man, but he was sure as hell good at putting on a good show. But despite it, Rush was still being stubborn, until Eric went to swing the bat towards his knees.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, alright already...I work security for Lord Felsham,' he said quickly, holding his hands in the air, with perspiration dripping from his forehead.

'Ah, interesting, now we're getting somewhere. So why the hell are you here?' Lovejoy demanded.

'Look I've told you that I can't tell you. God only knows what will happen if I do,' Rush panicked.

'Mr Rush, you look like a man caught in the middle of something he doesn't want to be involved in. If you're in some sort of trouble, then perhaps we can help, but we can only do that if you talk to us,' Jess said calmly and politely.

'I'd say. I never wanted any of this, but Lord Felsham offered me money, a lot of money, to find out some information for him and to get some pictures, that's all he said he wanted.'

'Of what?!' Jess asked in dismay.

'You, Mr Lovejoy here and Lord Felsham's wife. He said that he believed she was having an affair and that he wanted to divorce her, but he needed proof of her indiscretions and wanted me to report back any romantic liaisons she had, any meetings in general actually, and then I was to report these findings back to him.'

'And how are you to do that?' Jess said, completely oblivious to everyone else in the room.

'I'm to meet with him this Friday with the photographs I've taken and any news to report,' he replied, clearly exhausted and defeated.

'But why, why would you agree to do this?!' She exclaimed.

'Because I needed the money. I lost a lot, in a bad investment, my whole life savings in fact; my wife doesn't know, our marriage would be over if she did. It sounded so easy, "just take some photos" he said, report back her actions to him and he'd see me right...'

'How much?' Lovejoy said as he now sat in a chair nearby, his tone softer than before.

'Twenty-five thousand,' Rush replied slowly, leaving a silence in the room for a few moments.

'Have you seen Alexander? Told him any of this or shown him the photographs?' Jess asked eventually, clearly hatching a plan.

'No. Like I said, I was supposed to do it this Friday.'

'Alright; if I offer you double what Alexander has offered, that's fifty thousand pounds, to give me the evidence you have, will you promise not to let any of this get back to him?' Jess said, much to Eric's amazement.

'I...I...wha...but...I don't understand!' Rush exclaimed.

'Mr Rush, despite what Lord Felsham has said, Lady Jane has done nothing to warrant this. Alexander was a bastard to her, and treated her appallingly, she now has a chance to be truly happy and at peace, but if you go through with this, it'll destroy that happiness,' she pleaded, and finally touched a nerve with Rush.

'Fifty thousand you said...'

'In cash, ready and waiting for you this time tomorrow. No bankers cheques, no I owe you's, just cash,' she pushed.

'Alright then.' Rush agreed to help them out and gave them the rest of the details they needed. It turned out that Alexander was briefly back in the country and staying in London at his club.

'Jess you're insane! Where the hell are you going to get fifty thousand from just like that?!' Eric said after Rush had legged it and they were now alone in the workshop.

At the sound of Eric's question Lovejoy looked at Jess. He knew precisely where she was getting the money from, and it made him sad to see her spending her takings from her first major sale.

'Are you sure you want to do this Jess?' He asked, glancing at the antique table she had purchased only a week or two earlier.

'There isn't even a question about it Lovejoy. You and Mum are my world, I want you guys to be so happy together, but with shit like this hitting the fan before you've even barely begun a relationship together...well it doesn't bode well does it?' She replied.

'Yeah, you could be right I suppose,' Lovejoy replied as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

'Hold on a minute; who is in a relationship with who?!' Eric exclaimed.


	6. Chapter 6

'You've agreed to do what?!' Jane exclaimed once Jess and Lovejoy had returned to Felsham Hall, and had told her what they had found out. 'But darling you can't do that, not for me.'

'But I want to do it. I'm doing it for us, and for you and Lovejoy. Alexander ruined things enough for us once over, and nearly again for a second time just a few weeks ago; it's time I claimed back what is mine, my family and the people who love me and whom I love, and tell him to butt out of my life once and for all. So I'm going to meet with him…and before you object Lovejoy, I'm going and that's that,' Jess said with strong determination.

'She certainly knows her mind your daughter,' he said from the corner of his mouth to Jane, who smiled with pride.

'Yes I do, and that's why I'm meeting him on my own,' Jess said defiantly.

'Now hold on a minute Jess, that's not a good idea and I definitely won't agree to you doing that!' Lovejoy objected paternally.

'Lovejoy, stop being so overprotective, I'm a big girl, I can look after myself,' Jess said with a smile.

'Ah but you Christened me your father figure, your protector, it's my job to protect you and that's what I'm doing,' he replied as he placed an arm around Jess' shoulders.

'I know that, and I love you for it, and normally I wouldn't have it any other way; but this time this is just something I have to do on my own. I don't feel like I really got the opportunity to face Alexander properly last time, and I really feel…I dunno…it just feels important to me to do this, and this time it'll be very much on my terms that I'm meeting him on.'

'Alright Jess, if that's what you really want, then alright, Janey and I will go along with it,' Lovejoy replied reluctantly.

'Will we now? I'm not so sure I want to be part of that decision Lovejoy. I'm not happy with this at all Jess; he's my husband and it was my marriage, I feel as if I should be the one to speak to him.'

'Mum, he's my father, as much as that pains me to say it, and there's things that I want to know from him, and I also don't want to put you in that position again. If I hadn't returned looking for answers then none of this would have happened in the first place, your life would have continued uninterrupted, you'd still have had a marriage…and Lovejoy would still be chasing you,' Jess said with a giggle. 'I do love our life together Mum, I love that I now have a family, a mum and a dad to take care of me, cousins, an aunt and a grandmother to get to know, I really do love all of that, but none of the last six months would have happened if it wasn't for the decision I made.'

'And none of the last twenty years would have happened if it hadn't been for the decision Alexander made,' Jane said with understanding to Jess' meaning. 'But you don't know what would have happened, none of us do. Alexander and I may have ended in divorce by now anyway, and maybe I would have come looking for you,' Jane replied shyly, obviously something playing on her mind that she wasn't telling her daughter and friend.

'How do you mean Mum?'

Jane placed herself on the arm of the sofa, as Jess sat herself down in the opposite chair, waiting for her mother's explanation. Jess was looking concerned, as Jane nervously wrung her hands together, and Lovejoy too sat next to Jess, waiting nervously for what he was about to hear.

'Well I've told you before that there hasn't been a day gone by that I haven't thought about you, and before you came back I did often wonder where you were, who you were with, if you were being looked after; I tried not to dwell on those thoughts though, I tried to ignore your memory in my head as often as I could manage, because if I didn't…well, I would find it exceptionally hard to function. But this year, this year was different. I don't know why, maybe because I knew you were turning twenty, or because Alexander was away a lot more than he had previously, perhaps it was a combination of the two, I don't know, but I was really struggling.' The thoughts of what she had been like just a few months earlier began to get to Jane, and Jess could see that her mum was upset, so she reached out and grabbed a hold of her hand, which Jane held tightly. 'I ended up taking a myriad of medication for depression, something I haven't told anyone before, not even Alexander…well that's not true actually, Prue and I talked about it the morning I told her about you Jess, but previous to that, I'd never mentioned anything.'

'Why didn't you tell me Janey?' Lovejoy said as he walked to the other side of her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders in comfort, and pulled her into his chest, where she rested her head lovingly.

'Because I didn't feel as if I could, at the time; I didn't feel as if anyone could help me, and I was punishing myself for what I did I suppose,' Jane explained sadly.

'Oh Mum, you didn't do anything to deserve to be so unhappy. I'm so glad that I have you in my life now, and I want to do anything I can to take away your pain,' Jess said tearfully. 'Are you still on medication?'

'No, thankfully I was able to come off it shortly after you came back. Having you back in my life changed everything, and I knew that that was what I needed. If you hadn't found me when you did, I would have come looking for you; I was gearing myself up for it, I realise that now, preparing to reuniting myself with you, even despite what Alexander thought or said, not that I intended to tell him I don't think.'

'Mum, I'm so sorry, I never knew…' Jess said with tears as she thought about the pain her mum must have been in.

'Don't you be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for; but I realise now that Alexander and I would have ended by now anyway, because you would have taken precedent in my life, and work would have taken his, as it always did.'

'So what does this mean then Mum? Do you want to come and speak to him?'

'I don't know what it means, except that I want you to know just how much I love you, and how much you are not to blame for anything that ever happened between me and Alexander, that was down to him and only him.'

Jess stood from her position and hugged Jane tightly. She prayed deeply that this would be the last time they would have to have this conversation, because she was determined to put a stop to anymore of Alexander's nonsense. Despite Lovejoy's reservations, she was determined to meet with Alexander for Jane's benefit. This was no longer about her and what she wanted, this was about her mum and her mum's happiness and closure.

Lovejoy did spend the next couple of days trying to talk Jess out of it, but when Jane said she wanted to go as well, he really had an issue with being left unable to protect them. He was determined to make them see sense and include him in their plans, even if it meant begging them.

'I don't need to speak to him or anything, I could just be there in the restaurant, just in case you needed me,' he said as he arrived on the morning that they were both travelling down to London to meet with Alexander.

'Lovejoy, I'm not sure it's a good idea…' Jane started to say, tactfully trying to dissuade him, until Jess spoke through a mouthful of toast.

'I love you very much Lovejoy, but when it comes to this situation and for your love of me and Janey, keeping quiet isn't an option for you; you're likely to take one look at him and break his legs,' she said.

'Well…you've got a point there, but on this occasion, I will only do it metaphorically speaking. I just want to be there with you to support you both. I know you have a plan Janey, and it's one that I respect; I just feel that whilst you're sat waiting, and whilst Jess is talking with him, you might appreciate some morale support, that's all,' Lovejoy explained as he rested his hand on Jane's shoulder, who looked at Jess with a weakening resolve.

'Oh alright, I think I could do with all the morale support I can get if I'm honest,' Jane replied nervously.

'Actually,' Jess began, exhaling deeply,' I could do with the morale support too. I'm nervous about how this is gonna pan out; but you have to promise not to do anything rash Lovejoy if things start to get a little…well…off course. If he already suspects that you two are seeing each other, or wants ammunition to use against the three of us, then I don't want to give him any. This is about us using his actions against him, not the other way around,' Jess said with authority and a maturity far beyond her years.

'I promise, I won't intervene in anything, unless you want me to of course,' he replied with his hands in the air, knowing when he should admit defeat.

As they climbed into the range rover and prepared to travel down to London, they went over their plans once more. Even though they'd already discussed it in great detail, they wanted to make sure that they were absolutely clear on what they were doing.

'I've reserved you both a table at the hotel restaurant, hopefully you'll not be too far from me. I'll go up to Alexander and talk to him, then Mum will come over and say what she's got to say,' Jess said nervously.

'Are you absolutely sure that you want to do this Jess? I won't think badly of you if you want to leave it all to me,' Jane asked with concern and compassion.

'Nope, I'm absolutely certain I want to do this, as long as you're sure you want to go along with it as well.'

'Wild horses couldn't drag me away right now,' Jane replied as she carefully clutched an envelope in her hand, and felt her other being grabbed by Lovejoy, who glanced lovingly at her from the driver's seat.

'Just remember, I'm there for you both if you need me, at any time, you just need to shout,' he reassured, which both Jane and Jess found comforting.

Jess nervously rehearsed what she was going to say in her head all the way to London, right up until Lovejoy found a parking space and they began to approach the hotel foyer. It looked very posh, and even though she was dressed in her finest dress, immaculate shoes and her hair done perfectly, she still felt under-dressed. She was so nervous that she still expected the concierge to prevent her from entering, and breathed a sigh of relief when the man didn't object.

'I'll let you two be seated first, and then I'll ask if he's here yet,' Jess whispered as she looked around her.

'Alright darling, just remember, I'm here if you need me,' Jane said as she held her daughter close and gave her a teary smile.

Jess then watched as Lovejoy and Jane approached the Maître D', gave them Lovejoy's name, and then walked away to their table. She hovered for a few moments, nervously pacing, until the gentleman returned. Taking a deep breath, she approached him with an air of confidence, trying to give the impression that she belonged there, even though she felt very much like a fish out of water.

'Is Lord Felsham here yet?' She asked politely.

'Yes Miss; is he expecting you?' He asked rather pompously.

'Yes he is,' she said, as the man then begin to lead her into the dining area, 'or at least, he's expecting someone,' she muttered under her breath.

As she entered the room she could see Lovejoy and Jane sitting at a table, looking nervously in her direction and not listening to the young waitress trying to serve them. Jane looked as nervous as Jess felt, and as she rounded the corner away from her mum, Jess could see the top of Alexander's head, peeking out from behind a newspaper he was reading.

'Your guest Lord Felsham,' the Maître D' said, making Alexander look up and stare straight at Jess. He fixed her with quite a steely-eyed look, cold and harsh, not that she'd expected anything less.

'Thank you Mr McGuire,' he said as he folded the paper and handed it to the young man.

'Will that be all your Lordship?'

'Yes, thank you,' Alexander replied.

'Might I get the young lady something to drink?'

'A white wine please,' Jess replied casually before watching the man walk away. They sat and looked at each other in awkward silence for a few moments, broken first by Alex.

'Well this is a surprise,' he said with a darkened tone.

'Not as surprising for you as it is for me, believe me,' she replied with an equally cold tone.

'How did you know I was here?'

'The how doesn't really matter, it's the why that I'm interested in,' she said, trying to keep the confrontation of her tone down to a minimum; the first thing she wanted was answers, the last thing she wanted was a full blown argument.

'I'm home on business, not that it is any of yours.'

The waiter returned with Jess' drink, and for a few moments there was silence between the two of them. She took a couple of nervous sips from her glass, watched unnervingly by Alexander. His reaction to her presence surprised her, she expected him to try to walk away or ask for her to be removed, but he did nothing of the sort.

'So what is it that you want?' He asked casually.

'I don't want anything, well, not exactly; I need answers, I need to talk with you and I need to discuss a little situation we now find ourselves in, but in terms of "wanting" anything from you, there is nothing in this world that you could give me,' Jess replied defiantly.

'Well whatever it is that you "need" from me, get it over and done with and be on your way would you? I'm not in London for very long and I have a meeting to go to in an hour,' he said quietly.

Their conversation was odd, the atmosphere between them was awful and it just struck Jess that this man in front of her was knowingly addressing his daughter, and yet he clearly couldn't care less about her. His whole demeanour was one of indifference, and soon she found it difficult to control her temper, she managed it, but only just.

'How can you sit there and be so cold?' She asked, slightly taking him off-guard with her question.

'Excuse me?!'

'I'm your own flesh and blood, your child, and yet you're sitting there completely unmoved by me. Do you have any idea what your actions and attitude have done to me, and to Janey, the woman you supposedly loved?!' She demanded.

'I might be your father biologically, but I don't know you…'

'And whose fault is that?!'

'Look Jessica, despite what you might think, I did have your best interests at heart. Jane and I were still so young when you were born, we were still at the starts of our careers and we still had our lives to lead. I grew up barely knowing my parents, because I was brought up by nannies until I was sent off to boarding school; I didn't want to bring another child into the world where that was going to be their life,' he explained calmly, and his explanation stunned Jess.

'Well that was fine before I existed, you should have told Janey that from the start, but when she did become pregnant you treated her appallingly!' Jess defended.

'Alright, I admit my behaviour was unreasonable at times towards her and towards you as well, but having you when we did wasn't a good time. My parents didn't particularly approve of Jane before we were married, she wasn't enough of "our sort of people", but I'd gone against their wishes and married her anyway. My father wasn't awful to her, but my mother expected Jane to prove herself, and despite her disproval of women working, she still expected Jane to exceed with Hawkes and Draper, the co…'

'The interior design company she started with after qualifying from university, I know, she told me about how she started out,' Jess replied proudly.

'Quite,' he responded. 'Well I knew that with a baby on the way the company wouldn't have kept her on, she wouldn't have had time to concentrate on her career, and I didn't want my mother to have any weapons to use against Jane,' he explained, and for a brief moment Jess almost believe him.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa…yeah, but your mum and dad both died before I was born though, so when my mum didn't have to meet with anyone's approval but yours, you still made her life so difficult that she felt that she had no other choice but to give me away!' Jess could feel tears prickling at her eyes, but she was determined not to cry; so she clenched her jaw and curled her fingers into the palms of her hands, digging her nails into her skin.

'Yes, well just because my parents were no longer part of the equation, didn't mean I had suddenly changed my mind about wanting children,' he said finally, and Jess had no idea whether or not any of what he had just said was true. Did he really mean it? Or was he doing what he had always been best at, playing mind games.

'And did what I want really not come into it Alexander?' Jane said as she approached their table, teary eyed and clearly having just listened to their whole conversation. She'd tried to keep out of it, tried to let Jess have this moment, but hearing everything that Alexander had had to say, she couldn't not get involved.

'Nothing quite like being ambushed Jane!' Alexander said impatiently at her arrival, as Jane sat in the chair between her daughter and her husband. 'I'm surprised Lovejoy isn't snapping at your heels,' he added jealously, and glanced around him expecting to see the antiques dealer, but he had been smart enough to stay well out of sight, but he was still close enough to be on hand if they needed him.

'Don't be bitter Alexander, it doesn't suit you,' Jane said in a tone very uncharacteristic to the one he was used to be greeted with from her.

'Look, whilst you both might think my actions were callous, I did genuinely believe I was doing what was best for you Jessica. At least we had our reasons in common Jane, we both wanted her to have a mother and father who would love her.'

'Yes, that was my reasoning, but I'm not sure that I agree that it was yours; but to be quite perfectly frank, I'm not sure I care anymore,' Jane said with quiet anger, and Jess had never heard her talk to Alex or to anyone like this before. For a split second, prior to this statement, Jess had a fleeting fear that Alexander's explanation of the past might have won Jane over, that perhaps Jane might have come over to give him a second chance, but her tone and words now told Jess, that this was definitely not on the cards, and suddenly Alexander's steely demeanour was back. 'So now I want to know why you sent someone after us to have us followed!'

'Ah, well that would explain how you knew where to find me,' he replied, lacing his fingers together. 'I don't see there being any point in hanging about Jane, you've made your position perfectly clear when you decided not to come to Hong Kong, I think it's time we cut our losses, so to speak and file for divorce.'

'Oooooooh, I get it now,' Jess said as it finally dawned on her what it was that Alexander was trying to achieve.

'Care to enlighten me darling?' Jane said with a much softer tone.

'It's about what it's always been about, him and his career,' Jess said as she glared at him. 'To be able to divorce you he needs a good reason, he can't claim unreasonable behaviour on your part, since you're not the one who has been unreasonable, which therefore means he has to find other grounds; he of course doesn't want anyone to look into him to closely, because it'll be a higher profile divorce in the county than most anyway, and he can't have his precious clients knowing that he isn't the moral, upstanding man they all think he is, so if he can prove infidelity on your part Mum, he will look like the hard done to victim in all this,' Jess explained angrily, and as Jane finally realised this too, she was absolutely seething.

'Alexander…how…how could you?! How dare you!' She said with a raised voice, making a couple of people turn in their seats.

'Jane, please!' He said awkwardly as he glanced round at a few others, and he stood up from his seat when Jane shot up out of her's.

'After everything I gave up for you, after everything I have done, this is what you do to me?!' She shouted as she then raised her hand and brought it down across Alexander's cheek in an exceptionally loud slap, which even made Jess wince, before she thrust the envelope she had been holding into his chest. 'You can have your damn divorce, but it'll be on my terms! You will sign those and you will be hearing from my solicitor,' she added as she then grabbed her bag and began to storm off. 'Come on Jess darling, let's go home,' she added softly to her daughter, and they walked off together leaving Alexander to watch them depart, feeling embarrassed and stunned.

Both Jess and Lovejoy were amazed and gobsmacked at what had just transpired, neither of them had ever seen Janey so angry, in fact, Jane had never been so angry. She barely said two words to them as they walked out of the restaurant and into the foyer of the hotel, where the concierge went off into the cloakroom to get their coats. As he returned with them, Lovejoy took Jane's and helped her to put it on, with their backs to the staircase, something Jess was glad about when she saw what happened next.

Whilst the concierge was helping her with her jacket, Alexander came out of the restaurant from the far door, he didn't see them standing by the entrance, when a young woman came down the stairs. She was taller than Jane, with long black hair tied neatly back and a perfect complexion and Jess guessed she was in her late twenties to early thirties. The young woman saw Alexander and immediately went to him, placing a soft kiss to his lips in greeting, and then fussing over the red mark on his face. It wasn't the fact that Alexander hypocritically had another woman in his life that hurt or surprised Jess, it was the fact that when the woman turned round and they walked off up the stairs together, Jess could clearly see a small developing baby bump.


	7. Chapter 7

Jess made the decision not to tell Jane about what she had seen; she decided that what Jane didn't know couldn't hurt her, and she didn't need to be presented with something like that after everything she'd been through. Their journey home had been very quiet, as they all thought about what had transpired, and Jess could tell that despite her hardened exterior, on the inside Jane was tearing herself apart. However, Jess felt comforted as she watched Lovejoy and Jane together as he drove them home, and watched as he patted her knee every now and then, or glanced at her lovingly when she wasn't looking. Occasionally she would look up just as he was watching her, and she would smile genuinely at him, and at one point he took a hold of her hand, kissed it, and then held it for a while until they turned into the drive at Felsham Hall. At least he would be more of a comfort to Jane now, than Alexander had ever been during their twenty-one-year marriage.

Jane was the first out of the car and rushing towards the front door to get away from the cold air. It was starting to get dark, dark enough for the outside security light to come on, casting a romantic glow around her, and as a casual mist began to descend around them, water droplets made the air seem blurred. Lovejoy approached Jane as Jess watched them. She was too far away to hear their conversation, but she smiled as she watched him stand really close to Jane, rub his hand up and down her arm, boop her nose and then kiss her sweetly; and despite what she'd been through that day, she let him kiss her, and took great comfort in him doing so.

As she watched them together and watched how in love Lovejoy was with Jane, Jess cast her mind back to London, and wondered how Alexander could have behaved the way he had towards them. Although she knew Jane had her faults, she just couldn't understand how someone couldn't love her for the wonderful person that she was, and Jess knew that Lovejoy did; but she also wondered what it was she had done wrong to make Alexander dislike her so much, since it was clear from the way he had fawned over his new girlfriend and unborn baby, that he wasn't going to force her to give up her baby. That thought really tugged at Jess' heartstrings, but she tried to push it from her mind. There was no point in dwelling on it because she wasn't going to bring it up to Jane, and she now had her own family with the three of them. She vowed to always protect her mum's interests and make sure that no matter what happened between her and Lovejoy, that Jane would never be hurt like this again.

'Come on you two, open the door before we catch our deaths,' she said as she finally made her way towards them. Jane giggled a little, as she fumbled with her keys until it eventually opened. When they went inside Jane went off to the kitchen to make them all some hot chocolate whilst Lovejoy set the fire.

'You know, you did amazingly today, I felt so proud of you for being able to deal with such an awful situation the way that you did,' he said as he chucked a couple of pieces of kindling into the hearth along with some scrunched up newspaper.

'I still can't believe how awful he was to mum, she didn't deserve any of that, or any of what he has put her through,' she said sadly.

'Well Jess, some men will just never appreciate what they have; Alexander had a gorgeous and talented wife, he could have had an amazing and beautiful daughter too, but he, for whatever reason, decided that money and status was more important,' he explained, striking a match and lighting the paper.

'I know that, and I'm glad that he doesn't want me, because I don't want a man like that in my life; but promise me Lovejoy that you will tell Janey how much you love her, remind her every day that she's an amazing person and wonderful mum, don't hide your feelings from her, and always talk through your problems, never ignore them,' she said compassionately as Lovejoy held out his arms towards her and pulled her into a tight, paternal hug. He kissed her forehead and held her close for a few moments, just as Jane walked in with a tray and three mugs. She looked at him with concern as she saw him comforting her daughter, but he gave her a warm, affectionate and comforting smile, that told everything was alright. He was there to love them and protect them, and never let anything like today happen to them again.

The next day Jane began to work in her office. She wanted to get out of the house for a while and spend some time on her own whilst Jess went to the valuation. She had been a nervous wreck before she'd left, but Jane had every faith in her daughter; she had good taste and good intuition and good people skills, so even though her daughter didn't believe it yet, Jane knew that she was going to be brilliant at it. However, Jess hadn't been sure whether she was most afraid of Jane trusting her with her business reputation or with her car, since Jane had happily handed over the keys to the range rover.

'But what if I scratch it, or crash it, drive it into a wall or a hedge!' She'd panicked.

'Then we'll get it repaired; I can cope with a few scratches and dents Jess that can be fixed with a bit of touching up, as long as you're safe and well,' Jane had said.

'Ooooh who am I touching up,' Lovejoy had said as he had entered the office and goosed Jane, who had been slightly bent over her desk.

'Lovejoy!' She'd shrieked, spinning round quickly and nearly whacking him with her hand as she spun.

'Woah, careful Janey, I've seen what you can do with that hand remember,' he joked, making Jess giggle, and Jane playfully glare.

'Hmmm, and don't you forget it, she waggled her figure in front of him and then allowed him to embrace her and kiss her sweetly.

'Right, I'd better head off,' Jess had said as she then made her way out, shortly followed by Lovejoy, leaving Jane quite alone to catch up with some work that she'd been neglecting. She'd promised Jess that she'd be near the phone in case she needed her, but Jane knew that Jess would be fine, and hoped that this would help build her confidence.

After an hour of working on accounts she heard someone knock on the glass of her office door, which bore the name "Felsham Interiors", something she intended to fix as soon as she had a moment. She looked up to see her former client Brendon Chisholm standing there with a large bouquet of flowers and a sheepish grin. Jane had completely forgot about the poor man after everything that had happened in the last week, even after Mrs Cameron had passed on his two messages and had reminded her to contact him several times. Actually, she was under the distinct impression that Mrs Cameron liked Brendan and favoured him over Lovejoy, although she was still quite convinced that Alexander would come round and would walk back into their lives soon enough.

'I called up at the house, but your housekeeper said you were here,' he said charmingly, slightly at a loss as to what to say. 'These are for you,' he added as he passed the flowers to her.

'Why they're beautiful; I can't remember the last time I was bought flowers like these,' she said as she took them and smelled their sweet scent.

'Well after you hadn't returned any of my calls, and I'd heard you'd been back more than a week, I was starting to get worried I may have done something to offend you.'

'Oh gosh no, not at all!' Jane exclaimed. 'I've just been so terribly busy with family stuff, you understand,' she added.

'Ah well, what a relief, although nothing too serious I hope?'

'Nothing that my daughter and I couldn't fix, but we've realised that we just need some time to get over it all.'

'I see. So does that mean we should take a rain check on dinner? That's if the offer of dinner still stands?' He asked, just as they heard the scraping of gravel outside. They both went to the door to see who it was, and saw Jess jump out of the range rover, just as Lovejoy parked behind her in Miriam. Jane watched in awe as she saw them embrace tightly and Lovejoy wrap his arm around Jess' shoulders as they slowly walked towards the office. They both had matching beaming smiles, and even though they were too far away to hear what the joke was, Jane watched as Jess laughed at something he had just said. 'Well someone seems happy.'

'Jess has just done her first solo evaluation; she was so nervous before going out, poor thing,' Jane said proudly.

'Well she seems like a bright kid, I'm sure she did amazingly,' he replied with a pause. 'Is that her father?' He asked, taking Jane aback a little, but as she stood and watched them together, she knew the answer to give.

'Yes he is. Not biologically I'm afraid, but he's the only father she's ever properly known,' she explained very proudly, with love for them both clearly emanating, just as Lovejoy and Jess arrived at the door.

'Well it looks like you lovely people have lots to catch up on, so I won't take up any more of your time Lady Felsham, but please think about what I said,' Brendan said as he smiled at Lovejoy and Jess and then began to walk away.

'What was that all about?' Lovejoy asked quizzically.

'To remind me about our date,' she replied, 'and to give me these,' she added as she showed them the flowers. 'Don't look at me like that Lovejoy,' she said guiltily as she saw the look of jealousy on Lovejoy's face.

'Although to be fair Lovejoy, at least Brendan Chisholm has offered to take Mum on a date and bought her flowers,' Jess said playfully with a raised eyebrow.

'Actually I have asked your mum out…it's just that things got a little bit…well, distracted, shall we say,' he defended.

'OK fair point, but how about you ask her now then?'

'What?!' He asked looking confused about what Jess was trying to say.

'Eugh, did nothing I said last night about talking to each other sink in,' she muttered as she approached them both. 'Janey, I think you are the most stunning person I've ever seen, I love you more than I can say and would love to take you dinner.'

'Well, I couldn't have put it better myself,' he said as he looked at Jane with a smile, who was smiling back at him with a grin.

'And don't think you're getting off lightly either,' Jess said as she pointed at her mum. 'Lovejoy that would be lovely, because I do love you too, even though I don't always know how to express that I do, because sometimes I feel afraid to say it in case I don't get that back, but I do love you and want to spend time with you…especially away from that mentalist daughter of mine,' Jess joked, but she was spot on about how they both felt, she was obviously a lot more perceptive than Jane had given her credit. 'This would be the moment you kiss her,' she pretended to whisper to Lovejoy with a roll of her eyes, as he then locked lips with the love of his life, whilst Jess pottered around the office.

'Well then, how about it?' He asked her after a moment.

'Well we never did get the one you promised me before; but I don't want anything lavish or extravagant, I want something that's quaint, perhaps a little out of the ordinary,' she said quietly. Lovejoy wasn't quite sure what to plan for them, but he knew that without a doubt his stepdaughter would know just how to help.

A couple of weeks later Jess had pushed the incident with Alexander to the back of her mind, she had all the family she needed right there with her, and although they were still keeping quiet about their relationship, Lovejoy and Jane's relationship was blossoming. They had their first official date together, where he took her off for a romantic day in Oxford, during which they floated up the river in a gondola, ate fish and chips from the bag and then ate ice-cream from a sweet little Italian place. They talked the whole time about so much, and yet none of it involved Alexander, work or anything that had happened. They talked a lot about Jess and their relationship with her, and about how proud of her they were, but no reference was actually made to her past either; it was as if she had always been there, a part of their lives and hearts.

Life for the three of them hadn't changed very much, except for the fact that Lovejoy spent even more time at Felsham Hall than he ever had in the past, and when it was just the three of them, or when no one was looking, he and Jane would make small gestures to each other, little touches, small gifts, and that sort of thing. Jess had even walked into the kitchen to find them standing in front of the French windows, with Jane in front of Lovejoy, his arms wrapped around her waist and resting on her arms, and his chin on her shoulder. She had snuggled into him deeply, as they watched the mist lazily whisping its way through the garden, casting an eerie atmosphere on the grounds, which had been perfect for Halloween, just as dusk was beginning to settle.

Jess and her cousins were planning a night out into Norwich to spend some time in the clubs and bars there. Jess had made her own costume, using make-up and her artistic ability, turning herself from a sweet young woman into a hideous zombie.

'Now make sure you all stay together won't you, and please keep an eye on your drinks at all times, and your bag; if anything happens call me and I'll be straight over,' Jane said with a distinct tone of worry.

'Mum seriously, please stop worrying so much. I'm a big girl and I know how to look after myself. I'm sure my lovely new cousins will take good care of me, and I them; besides, if all else fails I'll have Allison with me, she knows how to keep me out of trouble…or get me into it,' she said cheekily as she kissed her mum goodbye and then hugged and kissed Lovejoy too.

'Do you think she'll be alright?' Jane worried again once her daughter had left in the taxi that had arrived for her.

'Course she will Janey; she's not doing anything that we didn't get up to when we were her age,' he replied casually, trying to be reassuring.

'Well you might have done, but I certainly didn't; by the time I was Jess' age I was married and pregnant, remember,' she replied with a worried smile.

However, she needn't have worried, since Jess was a smart girl and had a very enjoyable night, even if ended with her and Allison arriving home to Felsham Hall at six in the morning, and with a very bad hangover when she eventually got up later that afternoon.

It had been the first time Jane had seen Jess hungover, and although part of her felt it was self-inflicted, she still couldn't help but mother her and take care of her when she was being sick. She wasn't too impressed though the next day when Jess began to cough and sneeze, a virus which she kindly passed to Lovejoy, Jane, Tinker and Eric.

'Where do you want these Mum?' Jess asked as she huffed a box of fireworks into the kitchen, talking through her blocked nose, giving her a very muffled sound, one Saturday morning.

'Just put them on the table for now,' Jane replied feeling rather rough with a red nose and slight cough. Her cheeks were a little flushed and both Jess and Lovejoy were a bit concerned about her, since she seemed to have taken the full brunt of the bug.

'Mum you should go and get some rest before Aunt Prue and everyone arrives,' she said with concern, just as Lovejoy entered.

'No I don't, I'm fine,' Jane replied stubbornly.

'What's this?' Lovejoy asked.

'I'm just saying Mum should go upstairs and relax for a little while before everyone arrives.'

'And so she should,' Lovejoy agreed.

'I should do nothing of the sort you two, there's far too much to do, and it's only a little cold, we've all got it,' she said sternly, determined not to give in to being ill, since she so rarely had been, even though she felt absolutely rotten. Not only did she have a bit of a temperature, blocked nose and the startings of a sore throat, but she was coughing so much that it was starting to make her feel sick. She wasn't going to give in though!

'Alright then,' Lovejoy said reluctantly, 'but just take it easy Janey.' He placed his hand against her forehead and cheek, and then looked at her with concern; she looked back at him with a small glare, so he didn't say anything more about it.

'Right I'm going to put the finishing touches to the Guy,' Jess said as she made her way towards the kitchen door.

'And Eric and I are going to check the bonfire and set up the fireworks,' Lovejoy said, but just before he left he turned Jane round in his arms and gave her a lingering kiss, which quite took her breath away.

Jess smiled as she walked out of the kitchen to her studio, where her stuffed Guy was sitting waiting for the finishing touches, but she looked over to her desk where another little project she had been working on was sat, now just waiting on her giving it to the recipient.

Lovejoy and Jane stayed in the kitchen for just a few moments longer. He had so much he wanted to tell her. He still held onto her tightly, and she fiddled with his leather jacket for a moment, as she then instigated another kiss. They really did enjoy being together at last. 'Janey, I think the world of you, I hope you know that,' he said, not quite able to bring himself to say what he really wanted to, just in case it was still too soon for Jane.

'I know you do Lovejoy, I feel exactly the same,' she replied quietly, and her look was telling him she loved him too, even if neither of them had said it, and for now it was all he needed to know.

Preparations for their party continued throughout the afternoon. Prue helped Jess and Jane in the kitchen to prepare some light snacks, whilst the men did the final checks on the bonfire and fireworks. Jane was excited to have a private bonfire night, since every other one she'd been to up until now had involved her being rolled out as Lady Felsham on Alexander's arm, doing her Ladyship impression and smiling sweetly. But this year was so much more special, and she was so delighted to have it all to herself.

'So what are you going to do now then Janey? After you and Alexander are divorced I mean,' Prue asked as she buttered some bread for sandwiches.

'Well we haven't given it much thought yet, there's been an awful lot going on; however, I have told Alexander that we will be spending Christmas here, and then after Christmas Jess and I will start looking for somewhere nearby.'

'But what about the business and your office and everything?' Prue asked with concern.

'We'll manage all that don't you worry. It's not where my business is that gives it its reputation, it's my work and the quality. Besides, I've made Jess my partner now, I'm giving the business a full facelift so to speak, maybe being somewhere new isn't a bad idea. I want Jess to feel a part of something special, perhaps she will if she helps to choose,' Jane explained.

'I'm sure she already feels that Jane; but what about this place?'

'Well what about it? Felsham Hall isn't my home, it's Alex's, as he so kindly reminded me not that long ago when we were suddenly doing an inventory of all the things I had bought for his house, that he complained were mostly overpriced, not to his taste and that he hadn't been consulted on,' she explained as she roughly chopped some chicken and ham.

'So what do you intend to take from the divorce Janey?'

'To be honest Prue I haven't given it too much thought; as far as I'm concerned I'm taking with me the best thing to ever come from my marriage, and that's my daughter. We'll take all of the things that I bought, but as far as alimony is concerned…well, I'm not sure. I just want the whole damn business to be over and done with so Jess and I can move on.'

Prue was slightly taken aback by Jane's plans, and the fact that her younger sister really did mean it when she said that she had no intention of seriously challenging Alexander on anything; however, she was delighted to see Jane defending her daughter so fiercely, and really did believe that every decision she was making was for Jess.

That night, as the grounds of Felsham Hall grew black, everyone congregated outside wrapped up with thick gloves, scarves and coats. The four girls played with their sparklers as if they were five years old, whilst Jane huddled next to Lovejoy the best she could whilst still trying to be discreet; however, at times their discretion would slip, and Elle noticed them every now and then.

'Do you disapprove?' Jess asked her as she handed her grandmother a hot mug of hot chocolate to keep her warm, after noticing Elle staring at Jane and Lovejoy's direction, standing very closely together and clearly exchanging romantic words.

'No I don't disapprove; I think he loves my daughter and that's all that matters, especially after what both she and you have been through. However, I do feel she should be concentrating on you and not on a new romance.'

'Oh don't worry about me; I want them to be together, and by them being happy, it makes me happy and when I'm happy Janey and I are happy. Lovejoy might be rough around the edges, but the truth is, so am I, so he gives me some sanity to my situation and after everything my poor mum has been through in the last twenty years, she deserves to have a man who loves and adores her, and treats her better than any antique he's found, which is exactly what Lovejoy does,' Jess explained proudly.

'Right, shall we get this bonfire lit then and bring us some warmth to the situation?' Lovejoy asked as he approached the unlit pile of wood with Eric. As they all watched, they soon began to see the yellow and orange flames starting to lick the black sky, and soon enough they were warm from the glow, and whilst Lovejoy was distracted and Jess was wrapped into Jane's side, she took the opportunity to ask her daughter something she'd been meaning to ask for a while.

'Jess sweetheart, do you remember that day in Scotland when we went to the church?' She asked.

'The one where you and Lovejoy danced the tango?' Jess replied with a small smirk.

'Yes that's the one,' Jane also replied with a small smirk. 'Well before we left you lit three candles; I realised that two were for your mum and dad, but I wanted to ask about the third one?'

'Ah, I see,' Jess said with a wrinkle of her nose. 'Well, it was for us, for this; see, the night Lovejoy came looking for me, the night after we first met, I saw a shooting star and I wished that we could be happy together Janey and then that wish came true, but I was worried that everything with your family finding out was going to ruin that happiness, so I said a prayer for us and for our new family, that we could be together happily, and that you and Lovejoy would find happiness together to, so I guess I got both my prayers answered,' Jess explained with a slightly teary eyed expression, which made her glad that they were in the dark so as not to set Jane off, but Jane didn't know quite what to say to her daughter, except to hold her close.

'I love you Jess, with all my heart, and no matter what happens, you and I are always going to be happy together,' she said as she hugged Jess tightly.

'I love you too Mum, more than I think you know,' Jess whispered back and felt amazed at how far they'd come, just as Lovejoy came over to join them.

'Eric's about to start the fireworks, if he knows which end to light,' Lovejoy said.

'Oh leave the poor boy alone,' she playfully scolded, 'I'm sure he'll do brilliantly,' she added as the first burst of colour lit up the night sky just seconds later, quickly followed by a few more.

He wrapped his arm around Jane's waist and she pushed herself further into his side and she placed her head upon his shoulder. He kissed the crown of her head before she then tilted her head up, making him kiss her sweetly on the lips slowly whilst more and more fireworks were going off in front of them.

'I do love you Janey,' he whispered, finally not afraid to say what he wanted to and for once all of her inhibitions were gone too.

'I love you too Lovejoy,' she said as she kissed him again and their faces were lit by red, gold and green lights from the jets in the sky.

As the family of three watched the display, they all knew that something special was happening. They were about to embark on an entirely new life together, a new chapter, and the approaching festivities would mark the end of one era and the beginning of another, far more beautiful part of their story together.

 **That's the end of that particular story, but not the end of our wonderful couple as we know them; there'll be more from our favourite three very soon in a new sequel to this one. I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing, every comment I get means such a lot, especially because I know how much you've taken my story to heart, so thank you. Keep an eye out for the next story in the next few days folks =)**


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